2009Oct30: Every ton of methane has a 33 times more damaging effect on the atmosphere than a ton of CO2 over a 100-year period, according to study by NASA scientists. Standard thought was that every ton of methane had a 25 times more damaging effect on the atmosphere than a ton of CO2 over a 100-year period. From the article that was published in Science: “We found that gas-aerosol interactions substantially alter the relative importance of the various emissions. In particular, methane emissions have a larger impact than that used in current carbon-trading schemes or in the Kyoto Protocol” (Times.co.uk).
Reference: Times.co.uk http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6895907.ece
Read article abstract Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions. Drew T. Shindell, Greg Faluvegi, Dorothy M. Koch, Gavin A. Schmidt, Nadine Unger, and Susanne E. Bauer (30 October 2009). Science 326 (5953), 716. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1174760] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/5953/716
Image Description: Landfill compactor being used at an Australian landfill site. Photo by Ropable, 2006. Methane sources include: landfill sites, fossil fuel energy and agriculture, especially rice and livestock farming. Image Location: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Landfill_compactor.jpg Image Permission: The copyright holder of this work, hereby releases it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
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This post is tagged 2000s Climate Change Events, 21st Century and Climate Change, Aerosols, Carbon Trading, Climate Change Effects, Climate Change Research, CO2, CO2 Atmospheric Effects, Greenhouse Gases, Kyoto Protocol, Methane, NASA and Climate Change, Pollution, Temperatures, Warming Temperatures
