Methane is the world’s second most abundant greenhouse gas. It doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as CO2, but it’s many times more potent.
Photo by Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
The lead author of a new UN report on methane explains the findings and how oil and gas companies could be making money and saving the climate at the same time.
A prairie strip filled with flowers and wild rye grass between soybean fields on Tim Smith’s farm near Eagle Grove, Iowa, reduces greenhouse gases and stores carbon in the soil.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Farmers can help slow climate change by mixing native grasses into croplands, restoring wetlands and raising perennial crops. These strategies also conserve soil and water and build new markets.
Scientists are learning trees can emit methane, which could be a big problem for global warming. But a world-first discovery of methane-eating bacteria in paperbark can help moderate this.
Scientists previously underestimated aquatic methane emissions. We must use this new information to stop methane derailing our attempts to stabilise the Earth’s temperature.
Cow burps and farts are no joke – they’re a big factor in climate change. A new study shows that daily seaweed supplements could tame this major methane source while saving ranchers money.
Despite the government spruiking a ‘gas-led economic recovery’, natural gas is clearly on the way out. It’s time for a serious rethink on the way many Australians cook and heat our homes.
Microbial mats in Shark Bay, Western Australia, similar to those that lived around 200 million years ago.
Yalimay Jimenez Duarte WA-OIGC, Curtin University
The end-Triassic mass extinction was a cataclysm for the world’s prehistoric species, killed off by volcanoes that altered Earth’s seas and skies. But new research shows it didn’t happen when we thought.
In Australia, methane emissions from fossil fuels are rising due to expansion of the natural gas industry, whereas agriculture emissions are falling.
Methane bubbles form in a pit digester on a dairy farm as bacteria break down cow manure. The methane can be collected and used as an energy source.
Edwin Remsburg/VW Pics via Getty Images
If we had not altered the composition of the atmosphere at all through emitting greenhouse gases, particulate matter and ozone-destroying chemicals, the average temperature would have remained stable.
Compost awaiting distribution at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s Rancho Las Virgenes compost facility, Calabasas, Calif.
Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Turning food scraps and yard trimmings into compost improves soil, making it easier for people to grow their own food. City composting programs spread those benefits more widely.