methane

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UN Agency Warns of 'Ominous' Rise in Greenhouse Gases

Methane in atmosphere posts biggest climb in decades

(Newser) - The three main greenhouse gases hit record high levels in the atmosphere last year, the UN weather agency said Wednesday, calling it an "ominous" sign as war in Ukraine, rising costs of food and fuel, and other worries have elbowed in on longtime concerns about global warming in recent...

New Zealand Wants to Tax This Cow's Burps

Farmers are not on board with the plan

(Newser) - There are just 5 million people in New Zealand but some 10 million beef and dairy cattle and 26 million sheep. New Zealand's government on Tuesday proposed taxing the greenhouse gasses those farm animals make from burping and peeing as part of a plan to tackle climate change. The...

Satellite Spots Possibly One of Biggest Methane Leaks Ever

In Siberia, according to private company that tracks methane emissions

(Newser) - A private company that uses satellites to spot sources of methane emissions around the globe said Wednesday that it detected one of the largest artificial releases of the potent greenhouse gas ever seen, coming from a coal mine in Russia earlier this year. Montreal-based GHGSat said one of its satellites,...

Country Plans First Tax on Cow, Sheep Burps

New Zealand is including agriculture in emissions-trading scheme

(Newser) - New Zealand is looking into slapping a tax on one of the country's main sources of greenhouse-gas emissions: The livestock that outnumber human New Zealanders by more than seven to one. Agriculture accounts for around half the country's emissions, mainly methane produced by the burps of sheep and...

Research Adds to Case Against Gas Stoves

Scientists say potentially harmful emissions are worse than thought

(Newser) - Among environmental researchers and government regulators, it’s already common knowledge that gas appliances produce emissions that are potentially harmful to humans, including nitrogen oxides, toxic particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and even formaldehyde. That’s why furnaces and water heaters are required to be vented outside the building. Researchers are...

Steep Rise in Methane Is 'Extremely Disturbing'

Emissions jumped by record amount last year

(Newser) - Methane doesn't linger in the air for anywhere near as long as the more notorious greenhouse gas carbon dioxide—but it traps heat 25 times more efficiently, and scientists say the recent steep rise in methane emissions is very disturbing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the concentration...

Evidence of Alien Life Might Emerge in a Cloud of Methane

The trick will be ruling out nonbiological explanations

(Newser) - Methane—a key ingredient in delightful things like swamp gas, flatulence, and fossil-fuel emissions —could also prove to be a key biosignature, i.e., evidence of extraterrestrial life. Thus, the gas is top-of-mind for scientists preparing to receive an influx of data from the James Webb Space Telescope. According...

US, China Agree to Work Together on Something

'We need to think big and be responsible,' Chinese envoy says at UN talks on climate change

(Newser) - The world’s top carbon polluters, China and the United States, agreed Wednesday to increase their cooperation and speed up action to rein in climate-damaging emissions, signaling a mutual effort on global warming at a time of tension over their other disputes. In back-to-back news conferences at UN climate talks...

Amid Lofty Goals, a More Earthly Snub
Amid Lofty Goals,
a More Earthly Snub
the rundown
Nov 2, 2021 10:05 AM CDT

Amid Lofty Goals, a More Earthly Snub

Israeli minister was shut out of climate meetings because forum wasn't wheelchair accessible

(Newser) - The world climate summit continues in Scotland, and the coverage of COP26 is wide-ranging. A sample:
  • Rejoining: The US has formally rejoined a group known as the High Ambition Coalition at the climate talks, reports the Guardian . The group, made up of developed and developing countries, will push for nations
...

EPA Cracking Down on Methane
EPA Cracking Down on Methane
Nov 2, 2021 3:08 AM CDT

EPA Cracking Down on Methane

EPA's 'historic action' will 'ensure robust and lasting cuts in pollution across the country'

(Newser) - The Biden administration is launching a wide-ranging plan to reduce methane emissions, targeting a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming and packs a stronger short-term punch than even carbon dioxide. The plan was being announced Tuesday as President Biden wraps up a two-day appearance at a United...

Ship Finds Scary Gas Bubbling From the Deep
Ship Finds Scary Gas
Bubbling From the Deep
scientific find
Nov 1, 2020 3:00 PM CST

Ship Finds Scary Gas Bubbling From the Deep

A scientific team finds methane off the coast of Siberia

(Newser) - Those are methane bubbles—and that's not good news. So said a group of international scientists after analyzing the Siberian coast along the Arctic Ocean, the Weather Channel reports. The 60-member team said the bubbles were mostly dissolving in water, but high methane levels at the surface suggest that...

'It Was Making Noises. It Was Like Something Alive'

Crater 17 is discovered in Siberia

(Newser) - "It was making noises. It was like something alive." And now there are at least 17 of them. Popular Mechanics reports journalists with Russian news agency Vesti Yamal in July observed a 164-foot-deep crater on the Yamal Peninsula, the 17th such crater to have been found in a...

Burger King Changes Diet of Its Cows

A little lemongrass could help combat climate change

(Newser) - Burger King is staging an intervention with its cows, per the AP . The chain has rebalanced the daily diet of some of the cows by adding 100 grams of lemongrass in a bid to limit bovine contributions to climate change. By tweaking the diet, Burger King said Tuesday that it...

This EPA Rollback Has a Twist
This EPA Rollback
Has a Twist
Aug 29, 2019 8:30 AM CDT

This EPA Rollback Has a Twist

Agency moves to loosen methane regulations, but big companies like Exxon oppose the idea

(Newser) - The EPA has begun the process of overturning an Obama-era rule on the emission of methane at oil and gas operations, reports the Wall Street Journal . The move is in line with the Trump administration's anti-regulatory philosophy, but environmentalists are incensed because methane is seen as a major contributor...

Mars Rover Finds Possible New Sign of Life on Mars

The Curiosity rover detected a puff of gas

(Newser) - It's been a while, but Martian methane is back. NASA's Curiosity rover detected rich amounts of methane in the planet's air on Wednesday, reigniting hope of life on Mars, the New York Times reports. "Given this surprising result, we've reorganized the weekend to run a...

Greenhouse Gas Levels Haven't Been This Bad in 3M Years

Researcher says the gravity has 'not sunk in'

(Newser) - Congratulations, you've lived to see a planet transformed back to the Pliocene Epoch , at least in terms of greenhouse gas levels. "The window of opportunity for action is almost closed," says the UN's World Meteorological Organization after its annual assessment found concentrations of carbon dioxide in...

White House Takes Third Step to Ease Greenhouse Gas Rules

Administration plans to weaken restrictions on the release of methane gas

(Newser) - The Trump White House thinks the previous administration went overboard on rules about greenhouse gases, and it's about to make its third big move to correct that. After earlier moves on carbon dioxide pollution from autos and coal plants , this time it's all about methane, reports the New ...

Scientists Trying a Cow Trick: Adding Seaweed to Feed

The test will see whether it can reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas

(Newser) - University of California researchers are feeding seaweed to dairy cows in an attempt to make cattle more climate-friendly, per the AP . UC Davis is studying whether adding small amounts of seaweed to cattle feed can help reduce their emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that's released when cattle...

Court: EPA Can't Delay Obama-Era Methane Rule

Pruitt overstepped authority, DC court says

(Newser) - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped his authority in trying to delay implementation of an Obama administration rule requiring oil and gas companies to monitor and reduce methane leaks. In a split decision, the three-judge panel from the US Court of...

Surprise! Senate Fails to Repeal Obama-Era Rule

It was a rare victory for environmentalists during Trump presidency

(Newser) - Something unprecedented under President Trump's watch happened Wednesday: The Senate failed to repeal an Obama-era rule. The Washington Post reports it was a surprise 49-51 defeat for a resolution that would have repealed a Bureau of Land Management rule curbing methane emissions, with Republicans John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and...

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