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Methane: the tricky hunt for hidden emissions

bbc.com · 1,631 words · saved by 1 readers

A new satellite will measure global methane emissions, but why does agriculture's contribution remain so elusive? The team behind the world's most advanced methane-monitoring satellite, MethaneSat, are keen on metaphors about cleaning. "About the size of a washing machine," was how environmental scientist Steven Wofsy, described the orbiting object at a press conference ahead of its launch. "Like a push-broom," was his phrase for its capacity to scan the surface of the Earth. The metaphors are apt. Methane is a particularly dirty greenhouse gas, driving about 30% of the heating the planet has experienced so far. It breaks down in the atmosphere in just 12 years, which is much sooner than the centuries taken by CO2 – but it is also around 80 times more powerful over a 20-year time span. With 60% of global methane emissions coming from human activities, reductions are essential to reaching the world's climate change targets. Equally, if not addressed in a timely way, it could contribute

Methane: the tricky hunt for hidden emissions 6 March 2024 Share Save Add as preferred on Google India Bourke Features correspondent Getty Images Agriculture is the largest human source of methane emissions (Credit: Getty Images) A new satellite will measure global methane emissions, but why does agriculture's contribution remain so elusive? The team behind the world's most advanced methane-monitoring satellite, MethaneSat , are keen on metaphors about cleaning. "About the size of a washing machine," was how environmental scientist Steven Wofsy, described the orbiting object at a press confere

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