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Methane (CH4) -
Resource or Terminator?
Methane is a much potent greenhouse gas
than carbon dioxide. Despite its shorter atmospheric lifetime of
about 8.4 years, it has a high global warming potential of 72
(averaged over 20 years) or 21 (averaged over 100 years).
A study released by the British Antarctic Survey found
that in the past 800,000 years methane had never tipped 750 ppb, but is now 1,780 ppb.
| Human activities generate methane. Since 1750, atmospheric methane has
increased by about 150%. It represents 9% of total emissions, and accounts for 20% of the total radiative forcing. 350-500 million tons of methane
is added annually through human activities: in the process of livestock raising,
coal mining,
biomass burning, drilling for oil and natural
gas, rice cultivation, and garbage sitting in
landfills. |
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Natural methane is emitted from the
wetlands.
Bacteria that break down
organic matters in wetlands and bacteria that are found in cows,
sheep, goats, buffalo, termites, and camels produce methane
naturally. |
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From the ocean,
natural methane gas is being emitted through the
thawing of permafrost. |
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Landfill wastes produces a mixture of up to 50%
methane as landfill gas (LFG), and 35% carbon dioxide. Aaerobic
digestion has enabled the methane gas to be recovered
and utilized for heating, or running a power generator
at the site to increase project viability and reduce
energy wastage. |
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If coal mine methane is collected and harnessed, it can serve as a valuable
and renewable source of energy. The commercial utilization of methane from coal mines
brings benefits that include improved
air quality and mine safety, a new source of renewable energy, an
additional revenue stream for the coal mine, increased mine
productivity, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
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Stop that belching stomach or get
taxed!
The sheep-person ratio of New Zealand is
10:1. as at 2006 -2007. New Zealand is among one of the top ten greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions in the world, but nothing due from fossil energy
consumption from the manufacturing sector! Rather, it has to do
with the multiple stomachs of the ruminants! |
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Biogas
offers a solution to a cleaner environment. Its
generation as a biofuel utilizes biological wastes which
would have otherwise posed a persistent and unavoidable
pollution problem. It can also be used in modern waste
management where it can be used to generate power. Biogas can be
compressed, much like natural gas, and used to power motor vehicles
too. |
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New Global Warming Threat - The Methane Time Bomb
With global warming, the rise in
sea temperatures may trigger the sudden release of this
enormous amount of methane which in turn will causes further temperature rise, initiating a runaway process,
as irreversible once started as the firing of a gun. |
References and related news:
The Day The Earth Nearly Died - BBC
The Methane Time Bomb - Independent September 23, 2008
Permian Mass Extinction on video
Mass Extinction 250 million years ago - Science Daily
Melting Arctic Ocean Raises Threat of
Methane Time Bomb - Oct 30, 2008:e360.yale.edu
NOAA Atmospheric Carbon Dixide, Methane Rise Sharply in 2007:
Climateprogress.org/2008/04/24
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