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posted by martyb on Thursday July 16 2020, @10:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the oh-fart! dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record. Increases are being driven primarily by growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills.

Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century. This is a dangerous temperature threshold at which scientists warn that natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts and floods, and social disruptions such as famines and mass migrations become almost commonplace. The findings are outlined in two papers published July 14 in Earth System Science Data and Environmental Research Letters by researchers with the Global Carbon Project, an initiative led by Stanford University scientist Rob Jackson.

In 2017, the last year when complete global methane data are available, Earth's atmosphere absorbed nearly 600 million tons of the colorless, odorless gas that is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 100-year span. More than half of all methane emissions now come from human activities. Annual methane emissions are up 9 percent, or 50 million tons per year, from the early 2000s, when methane concentrations in the atmosphere were relatively stable.

In terms of warming potential, adding this much extra methane to the atmosphere since 2000 is akin to putting 350 million more cars on the world's roads or doubling the total emissions of Germany or France. "We still haven't turned the corner on methane," said Jackson, a professor of Earth system science in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth).

[...] According to Jackson and colleagues, curbing methane emissions will require reducing fossil fuel use and controlling fugitive emissions such as leaks from pipelines and wells, as well as changes to the way we feed cattle, grow rice and eat. "We'll need to eat less meat and reduce emissions associated with cattle and rice farming," Jackson said, "and replace oil and natural gas in our cars and homes."

Journal Reference:
Increasing anthropogenic methane emissions arise equally from agricultural and fossil fuel sources, Environmental Research Letters (DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab9ed2)

Previously:
(2020-06-01) Researchers Control Cattle Microbiomes to Reduce Methane and Greenhouse Gases
(2020-04-14) Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms Release More Methane Than Previously Estimated
(2020-04-08) Deep-Sea Worms and Bacteria Team up to Harvest Methane
(2020-03-06) Methane Emitted by Humans Vastly Underestimated
(2019-10-09) Sea 'Boiling' with Methane Discovered In Siberia
(2019-08-30) Fracking In U.S. And Canada Linked To Worldwide Atmospheric Methane Spike
(2019-06-19) Seaweed Feed Additive Cuts Livestock Methane but Poses Questions
(2019-05-21) Researchers Suggest Converting Methane Into Carbon Dioxide to Fight Global Warming
(2019-05-16) U.S. Methane Emissions Flat Since 2006 Despite Increased Oil and Gas Activity


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by EJ on Friday July 17 2020, @12:28AM (19 children)

    by EJ (2452) on Friday July 17 2020, @12:28AM (#1022663)

    There aren't too many cows. There are too many people. We need to cut the global population by half at the least. In truth, the world would be better off with only 25% of the current total population of people.

    Too many idiots keep pointing out that "there is plenty of land" to support an infinite number of people, but they fail to grasp the concept of water. "Lookit all that water in them there oceans!"

    We are currently facing a SERIOUS shortage of freshwater, and that is only going to get worse. The world CANNOT support the amount of people it already has. We need to STOP popping out babies left and right just because we like watching TV shows like "WTF, She Has 18 Kids?!" on The "Learning" Channel.

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @12:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @12:46AM (#1022674)

    Good idea, the world would be a better place without Muslims.

  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @02:54AM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @02:54AM (#1022714)

    There is infinite water in the oceans. Desalinization turns the water problem into an energy problem. A shortage of energy is easy to solve.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Friday July 17 2020, @03:09AM (9 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @03:09AM (#1022718) Journal

      A shortage of energy is easy to solve.

      [Citation needed]

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday July 17 2020, @04:47AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @04:47AM (#1022764) Journal
        You just need more energy, duh. Exercise and eat right!
      • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday July 17 2020, @11:40AM (7 children)

        by deimtee (3272) on Friday July 17 2020, @11:40AM (#1022854) Journal

        Solar panels currently have an EROEI of between 15 to 20, and that is going up with improvements over time. The only reason we are not currently paving rooftops and spare space with solar cells is that fossil fuels are so cheap, and the solar cycle is inconvenient.

        What we really need is a cheap long life (infinite cycles) battery to make solar really competitive.

        --
        If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 17 2020, @11:57AM (6 children)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @11:57AM (#1022858) Journal

          Which means "A shortage of energy is will be easy to solve."

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday July 17 2020, @11:30PM (5 children)

            by deimtee (3272) on Friday July 17 2020, @11:30PM (#1023118) Journal

            It's just supply and demand. There is no energy shortage. There is just a fossil fuel surplus at the moment, which makes other energy sources uncompetitive.

            --
            If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 17 2020, @11:44PM (4 children)

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @11:44PM (#1023121) Journal

              There is just a fossil fuel surplus at the moment, which makes other energy sources uncompetitive.

              The price is low because it doesn't take into account the damage to the commons. Socialize the liabilities and almost everything becomes cheaper - until there's noone to pay even a low price because the damage to the commons drove them into extinction.

              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday July 18 2020, @07:47AM (3 children)

                by deimtee (3272) on Saturday July 18 2020, @07:47AM (#1023287) Journal

                The finances matter, as do the externalities, but underlying it all is the relative EROIE's. Solar is 15 to 20, oil is about 100.
                Investing in oil gets you five to seven times the return of investing in solar. That's slowly changing, as oil gets harder to extract and of lower quality and solar gets more effective, but there will still be a while before the crossover point.

                --
                If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
                • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 18 2020, @08:29AM (2 children)

                  by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 18 2020, @08:29AM (#1023295) Journal

                  Investing in oil gets you five to seven times the return of investing in solar.

                  Ignoring externalities again. So, you like better cheap gas at the pump even if your house burns down every 10 years because of bushfires?

                  --
                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                  • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday July 18 2020, @12:41PM (1 child)

                    by deimtee (3272) on Saturday July 18 2020, @12:41PM (#1023345) Journal

                    Why do you take an acknowledgement of reality as an endorsement?

                    I personally think we should be sticking solar panels, mini-windmills and batteries on every house and factory out there. Registration and TAC should be 80% off for electric cars. Petrol tax can go up another 50% if you like.

                    But I also happen to know that my preferences don't alter the real world very much, and in the real world that is not going to happen until it makes economic sense.

                    --
                    If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
                    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 18 2020, @02:05PM

                      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 18 2020, @02:05PM (#1023369) Journal

                      But I also happen to know that my preferences don't alter the real world very much, and in the real world that is not going to happen until it makes economic sense.

                      Well, that's the problem with an universal make-believe economy: the reality gets into play and everything eventually tumbles over.
                      Early 2008... Remember? Universal belief of the time: "house prices never go down".

                      The fact that current "real world" economy doesn't take into account the externalities has and will continue to have consequences. Nastier consequences as the time passes.

                      --
                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 17 2020, @11:00AM (2 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday July 17 2020, @11:00AM (#1022837) Journal

    We are currently facing a SERIOUS shortage of freshwater, and that is only going to get worse. The world CANNOT support the amount of people it already has. We need to STOP popping out babies left and right just because we like watching TV shows like "WTF, She Has 18 Kids?!" on The "Learning" Channel.

    No, we're not. Have you ever seen Lake Michigan? That's fresh water. Have you ever seen the Mississippi River? That's fresh water. The Hudson River is still there. The Delaware River, which I crossed a couple weeks ago, is still there, still full. The Missouri River is still full. The rivers and lakes, fresh water, are still full. The stuff that replenishes them, called rain, still falls.

    There is no shortage of fresh water. Saying there is flies in the face of all empirical evidence.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday July 17 2020, @05:36PM (1 child)

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday July 17 2020, @05:36PM (#1022979)

      Ooh, I can play this game too!

      Yes we are. Have you ever seen Arizona? There's no water. Have you ever seen Death Valley? There's no water. The Sahara is still there. The Utah Canyonlands, which I crossed a few years ago, is still there, still dry. The Colorado River is barely a trickle. The mountains and deserts, with no water, are still dry. The thing that dries them, called sunlight, still shines.

      There's a massive shortage of fresh water. Saying there isn't flies in the face of all empirical evidence.

      Or maybe, just maybe, your failure to measure both the supply of fresh water and the demand for fresh water, plus your choice to cherry-pick your samples, means that your conclusions are pretty much bunk.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 17 2020, @06:16PM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday July 17 2020, @06:16PM (#1022994) Journal

        Thexalon, have you been to Death Valley? There actually is water [nps.gov] there [nps.gov]. There's water in the Canyonlands [nps.gov], too. The Sahara, apparently, also has water [oxfordpresents.com]. I know you were being clever by picking extreme examples, but at least two of those three contradict your assertion.

        The parent I responded to expressed a Chicken Little sentiment about how our civilization has run out of fresh water. Our civilization has not run out of fresh water, and will not run out of fresh water as long as rain falls. Of course that water is not evenly distributed, but if you choose to live in the middle of an extreme desert environment that does not have enough fresh water to support the million people you want to put there, then you really have only yourself to blame.

        Perhaps the parent lives in Southern California, and has been chafing under water use restrictions implemented during the drought that ended a year ago. OK, fine, but it is predominantly chaparral, which is arid to begin with, and much of the water they'd like to drink and spray their sidewalks off with in LA is siphoned away for agriculture in the Central Valley. If they really wanted to do something meaningful about that, they'd build enormous cisterns to capture the rains from El Nino. All that is, however, still a local phenomenon and transitory at that. The rest of the US still does not lack for water at all.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @02:54PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @02:54PM (#1022906)

    > We need to cut the global population by half at the least.

    You first.

    Does that mean no more immigration from 3rd world to prop up low replacement rates in the 1st world? Sounds like the amount of immigration, illegal or not, is a climate catastrophe.

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday July 17 2020, @03:32PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @03:32PM (#1022923) Journal

    There aren't too many cows. There are too many people. We need to cut the global population by half at the least. In truth, the world would be better off with only 25% of the current total population of people.

    Simple solution: stop eating cows.

    1. Separate population into two groups. Eloi and Morlocks.
    2. Require mandatory participation of everyone within 90 days to select which group they wish to join.
    3. Everyone happy, problem solved.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday July 17 2020, @05:42PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday July 17 2020, @05:42PM (#1022982)

    We don't need to kill off 50% of the population if we focus our mass murder on the people that cause the most problems for the environment. And we can reasonably estimate environmental impact by national emissions levels and personal income level. Which means that the people who will be left will be not the kinds of people who can easily have this conversation over a computer network.

    Still think it's a great idea?

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 1) by UncleBen on Friday July 17 2020, @05:58PM

    by UncleBen (8563) on Friday July 17 2020, @05:58PM (#1022988)
    The overpopulation trope is a tired cover for a couple of unpleasant desires. EG: "too many brown people" and "too many poor people (not directly supporting the overpop preacher)". But as pop growth consistently decreases, our species' prospects are ok ONLY IF we get Anthropogenic Global Climate Change under control.