NASA finds super-emitters of methane (smithsonianmag.com)

Article summary

NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument on the International Space Station has detected over 50 sites around the world that are super-emitters of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. These sites include oil and gas infrastructure in central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United States. The EMIT instrument was originally designed to map mineral dust, but it can also detect methane due to its unique spectral signature. The discovery of these super-emitters can help attribute methane sources and mitigate emissions from human activities.

Main themes

• methane emissions
• climate change
• environmental monitoring
• regulatory enforcement
• technological solutions
• environmental justice

What commenters say

• Environmental monitoring in the US is inadequate, allowing large methane leaks to go undetected for years.
• The cost of capturing methane from old wells is prohibitively expensive, making it cheaper for companies to dump cement and abandon them.
• The new fines for methane emissions may not be enough to incentivize companies to take action and reduce their emissions.
• Individual actions, such as 'voting with dollars' by choosing eco-friendly products, are insufficient to address the scale and complexity of climate change.
• The ability to detect and track methane emissions from space can help hold companies and governments accountable for their role in climate change.
• The discovery of super-emitters highlights the need for more effective regulations and enforcement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• The impact of climate change will disproportionately affect certain regions and populations, making it a matter of environmental justice.
• Technological solutions, such as capturing methane from old wells or building natural gas pipelines, may be necessary to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.