Cows are a major source of methane gas emissions, which the researchers said reached a record in 2017.
(Carsten Koall / Getty Images)
- Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
- It is produced by livestock, natural gas, oil, and other sources.
- Although carbon dioxide decreased during the coronavirus pandemic, methane probably did not.
According to new research, methane emissions, a potent ingredient in global warming, have hit an all-time record high equivalent to putting 350 million more cars on the world’s roads.
Without decreasing, that level of methane emissions could help warm the earth to dangerous temperatures by the end of the century. It would also undermine any chance of meeting the international goal of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 2.7 degrees per year, according to a press release. from Stanford University detailing the research.
The results The study, conducted by scientists from various institutions, including NASA, Yale and Stanford, was published Tuesday.
(PLUS: Global annual temperature could reach 2.7 degree rise threshold in next five years, says WMO)
The researchers found that methane emission levels peaked between 2000 and 2017, the most recent year for which data is available. Methane emissions are largely due to coal mining, oil production, natural gas production, landfills, and cattle and sheep farming.
“The use of natural gas is increasing rapidly here in the United States and around the world. It is offsetting carbon in the electricity sector and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but increasing methane emissions in that sector,” said Rob Jackson , author of the Stanford study in the press release.
“As a result, we are emitting more methane from leaking oil and gas wells and pipelines.”
He also noted that while people may laugh at that, livestock is an important source.
“Emissions from livestock and other ruminants are almost as large as those from the fossil fuel industry for methane,” said Jackson. “People joke about burping cows without realizing how big the fountain really is.”
“Methane does not last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it is much more efficient to trap heat than carbon dioxide, “Benjamin Poulter, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and another author of the study, told NBC News.
(PLUS: Roadkill decreased during coronavirus restrictions, according to a new study)
Methane inputs could be reduced if fossil fuel use decreases, leaks from pipes and wells are reduced, and changes are made in the way humans raise, grow and eat our food.
“We will need to eat less meat and reduce the emissions associated with growing cattle and rice,” Jackson said, “and replace the oil and natural gas in our cars and homes.”
New innovations such as algae food supplements to help reduce belching by cows and the use of drones to control methane leaks from oil and gas wells could also help reduce methane emissions.
And while carbon emissions plummeted during coronavirus restrictions that limited transportation and manufacturing, Jackson said there was probably little impact on methane.
“There is no chance that methane emissions will fall as much as carbon dioxide emissions due to the virus,” he said. “We are still heating our houses and buildings, and agriculture continues to grow.”
The Weather Journal’s primary journalistic mission is to report on the latest news from the climate, the environment and the importance of science in our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
.
