NatGas Driving The Climate Crisis

Oil and gas production is contributing even more to global warming than was thought, study finds

Drew Kann, February 19, 2020 (CNN)

“…Scientists say that atmospheric methane is now responsible for about 25 percent of the human-caused warming…[and] a new study finds that methane emissions from fossil fuels are between 25% and 40% larger than past research had estimated, revealing that oil and gas production is contributing far more to warming the planet than previously thought…[Sources of methane in the earth's atmosphere] can be divided into two categories: biological and fossil…Biological methane is released by the decay of plants and animals in environments like wetlands, but also from human activity like cattle farming, landfills and rice fields…[Fossil methane] can seep naturally from underground, or it can be released into the air by human extraction of oil and gas…

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...[M]ethane concentrations in our atmosphere have soared by about 150 percent in the roughly two centuries since the Industrial Revolution…[The new research shows] that oil and gas production account for nearly half of all the methane in our air that is attributable to human activity…There is not as much methane as carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, but a molecule of methane has a global warming potential that is 20 times greater than carbon dioxide…[which means] the methane emissions associated with natural gas production are a serious problem for the planet…[H]uge amounts of methane are being released from oil and gas facilities around the US…” click here for more

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