methane

(Newser) - Australians are being advised to save the planet by eating kangaroos and camels. A study of Australia's 1 million wild camels, descendants of camels imported as pack animals, recommends that their numbers be culled by hunting them for food, AFP reports. A separate study suggests that kangaroos be farmed for meat instead of methane-producing cattle and sheep. More »

(Newser) - If warnings about undersea methane are true, we can "kiss our winter boots goodbye," Kirsten Weir writes in Salon. In the doomsday scenario, vast stores of undersea gas deposits will melt and send heat-trapping methane into the atmosphere. But such a crisis would require a 10-to-15 degree Celsius shift, others say, and much methane would simply dissipate in ocean waters. More »

(Newser) - This week ministers from 187 nations are gathering in Poland to discuss a new treaty on global warming, and one of the central issues will be not belching smokestacks but cows, pigs, and chickens. Rising global living standards have led to soaring meat consumption; emissions from livestock now generate 18% of global greenhouse gases—more than cars or planes—and regulation remains lax. More »

(Newser) - A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in scale to the Alps—formed and endured beneath the ice and snow. More »

(Newser) - Meat-eaters who want to help fight global warming can do so by going vegetarian at least one day a week, a top UN official tells the Guardian . The meat industry accounts for an estimated one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions, released during feed production and as methane by flatulent livestock. Meat consumption has gone up fivefold since 1950, and is predicted to double by 2050. More »

(Newser) - In its quest to be the first carbon-neutral country, New Zealand is cracking down on methane emissions--and that means regulating the gas released by livestock, the Los Angeles Times reports. Farmers are worried a government proposal to fine them if their livestock exceed greenhouse-gas limits could leave many bankrupt—a particular problem as the world faces a food crisis. More »

(Newser) - The gas production, need for space, and food requirements required by organic and free-range livestock hurt the environment more than their traditional counterparts, the BBC reports. Organic poultry can heat the earth some 45% more than indoor poultry, one group said; and a UN division found that farm animals heat the Earth more than transport. The reports have led experts to push indoor "precision husbandry." More »

(Newser) - Climate scientists meeting this week in Vienna are contemplating a terrible prospect—the release of billions of tons of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. Methane, 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, lies frozen in gas hydrates on the ocean floor, but rising global temperatures are loosening the ice’s grip. More »

(Newser) - Methane, one of the simplest compounds known to play a role in the chemical genesis of life, was discovered for the first time to exist on a planet outside Earth’s solar system, the BBC reports. The planet, designated HD 189733b, is 63 light years away and also contains water, but is far too hot to support life as we know it. More »

(Newser) - The discovery of a massive store of frozen methane on the seabed off the coast of China may help the world's fastest growing nation keep up with its accelerating energy needs. Methane hydrate, also known as crystal gas, is frozen and yet flammable, and it could mean a breakthrough for India, South Korea and Taiwan—all of which have booming economies—as well, Der Spiegel writes. More »