methane

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Huge Lake Found in Titan's Tropics

Discovery suggests underground channels

(Newser) - University of Arizona researchers have discovered a massive methane lake in the arid tropics of Titan, they announced today, suggesting that Saturn's biggest moon may have subterranean channels of the liquid. Titan has long been known to contain liquid methane, which forms pools, clouds, and rains much as water...

New Environmental Worry: Ancient Gas

Researchers now able to distinguish new, old sources of methane

(Newser) - There are huge quantities of methane locked in ice sheets around the world, threatening to speed up climate change as they get released in melting ice. But determining which methane is the ancient kind and which is much younger and hails from, say, plant life that has decayed in lakes...

Methane Rains on Titan... Every 1K Years

Storms are rare, but they're doozies

(Newser) - Scientists think there are only two places in the solar system where liquid rains fall on solid land—the Earth and Saturn's moon Titan. But on Titan, that rain isn't water, it's methane, and it falls as little as once every 1,000 years in parts, according...

Study: 14 Practical Steps Can Slow Climate Change

Try ditching wood cook stoves in developing world

(Newser) - Just because the world can't agree on a battle plan against carbon dioxide doesn't mean we can't take big strides against climate change, scientists say. In fact, a dozen or so relatively simple steps could cut global warming by nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit by mid-century, a process...

25 Dead in Ukraine Mining Accidents

Two separate incidents highlight safety lapses

(Newser) - Rescue workers have found five more bodies at two Ukrainian coal mines where accidents occurred, raising the death toll to 25. Twelve other miners remain missing. The accidents in the eastern region shocked the country and highlighted the dangers of the nation's mining industry. It is believed to be...

Australia: Let's Kill Camels to Save Planet

Government wants to offer carbon credits in exchange for wiping them out

(Newser) - Meet another global warming bad-guy: the lowly camel. Australia's government is pitching a proposal in which it would be a-OK to kill camels in the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions—and in exchange for cash. The AP reports that in one year's time, just six of these...

Bleak Outlook for 31 Men Trapped in Pakistan Mine

21 killed in yesterday's explosion

(Newser) - A mine explosion in Pakistan killed 21 people yesterday, and officials say there is little hope that any of the remaining 31 men trapped inside will make it out alive, reports AP . Making the situation worse is a poisonous methane leak, which officials say has been preventing rescue workers from...

Bacteria Ate Methane in Gulf at Near-Impossible Rate

Gas from spill consumed in less than 4 months, according to study

(Newser) - Bacteria appears to have broken down all the methane that spilled out of the Deepwater Horizon well in less than four months—even though the process should have taken years, according to one team of scientists studying the spill. “This was a surprise to us,” says the chemical...

Worries Over Leaks Mean Another Day of Tests

'Anomalies' spur caution, Thad Allen says

(Newser) - Worries over "anomalies" and seeping oil near the site of the Gulf spill have led authorities to order another day of testing on the cap over the damaged BP well, CNN reports . "There is no indication at this time this is any indication of a significant problem in...

Oil Rig Crew: We All Were Sure We'd Die

Workers recount fateful night Deepwater Horizon blew

(Newser) - It was a pristine day on the Gulf of Mexico, and the crew of the Deepwater Horizon had much to celebrate—they were nearing completion of a difficult oil well ahead of schedule, and a crew of BP execs had landed that morning to laud their safety record. Then at...

Methane Bubble Triggered Blast Aboard Oil Rig

Gas cloud covered Deepwater Horizon, then she blew

(Newser) - The deadly Deepwater Horizon blowout was triggered by a bubble of methane gas that shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding, according to interviews with rig workers. "A small bubble becomes a really big bubble," says an expert...

Your Guide to Greenhouse Gases
 Your Guide to 
 Greenhouse Gases 
A COPENHAGEN PRIMER
Dec 13, 2009 3:35 PM CST

Your Guide to Greenhouse Gases

Carbon dioxide you know, but what about perfluorocarbons?

(Newser) - With things set to really heat up next week at the Copenhagen climate summit, the Guardian runs down greenhouse gases you oughta know:
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2): Industrialization and deforestation have produced high levels of this gas, which helps trap heat inside Earth’s atmosphere.
  • Methane (CH4): Thirty times more dangerous
...

Dairy Farmers Switch Feed to Curb Burps

(Newser) - Vermont dairy farmers are changing their cows’ diets in an effort to fight climate change, the AP reports. Milk production accounts for 2% of the country’s greenhouse gases, the vast majority of which comes from the methane-rich burps of cattle. Now, 16 farms working with Stonyfield Farm Inc. are...

Dairy Teams Seek Greener Cow Burps

Methane production drops after farms adopt new feed

(Newser) - Cow belches have been called a bigger environmental threat than cars and trucks—and now dairy groups are taking steps to keep dangerous burps to a minimum, the New York Times reports. One Vermont farmer has seen his cows’ methane emissions drop 18% after boosting the alfalfa and flaxseed in...

New Enemy in Climate Fight: Methane-Heavy Sheep Burps

Methane from livestock may cause more emissions than automobiles

(Newser) - Big oil, coal-fired power plants, automakers and now sheep: As governments look to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, researchers are looking seriously at livestock, believed to contribute more than cars via the methane gas they belch during digestion, the Wall Street Journal reports. To that end, researchers in New Zealand are trying...

Human Waste Helps Oslo's Carbon Footprint

Buses in Norway's capital will run on methane distilled from feces

(Newser) - Norwegian officials have hit on a novel, if gassy, alternative to carbon-spewing gasoline, Dave Demerjian writes in Wired. Starting in September, Oslo will capture methane, a byproduct of the process at its sewage treatment plants, and use it to power city buses. Norway hopes to use the gaseous human contribution...

Leave Space to Robots
 Leave Space to Robots
OPINION
Jan 24, 2009 2:58 AM CST

Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle...

Methane Hints at Life on Mars
 Methane Hints at Life on Mars 
Jan 15, 2009 4:38 PM CST

Methane Hints at Life on Mars

Gas released in high concentrations could be from bacteria

(Newser) - The discovery of high methane concentrations on Mars may hint that underground life exists on the red planet, the Houston Chronicle reports. Scientists funded by NASA and other institutions, using Earth-based telescopes, have found plumes of methane in such high concentrations they believe bacteria, which can also produce the gas...

On Green Menu: Roos &amp; Camels
 On Green Menu: Roos & Camels 
Jan 5, 2009 5:34 AM CST

On Green Menu: Roos & Camels

Studies say beef emits greenhouse gases

(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...

Will Undersea Methane Kill Us or Save Us?

It could be worse than CO2 or viable source of energy

(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...

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