Methane contamination has an inexpensive and effective solution that is not used

And because methane is invisible and odorless, it can be difficult and expensive to monitor it and not go outside. As a result, researchers and environmental activists say the industry is likely to be released It’s more than official government estimates show.

Methane also seeps out of the coal mines. In fact, methane is released during the production of natural gas, mostly methane. Ember, a think tank for clean energy, brings this together Great visual interactive Here’s how this happens.

The shorter version is that methane is embedded in coal deposits and when miners dig to expose coal seams, the gas escapes and the mine continues on until it reaches the end of its operating life. Coal miners are focused on extracting coal, so they don’t track how much methane they are producing, nor do they pay much attention to the regulators.

Methane emissions from the mines could be 60% higher than official tally, according to Ember. Abandoned coal mines are particularly harmful, releasing more than abandoned oil and gas wells. Furthermore, methane released from coal mines around the world each year has the same warming effect on the climate, just like India’s annual carbon footprint.

Warning about data gaps, some nonprofits have taken it to use ground-based sensors, aviation monitors, and aviation monitors to try to take better photos of methane emissions on a global scale. Even on satellites. In 2024, the Environmental Defense Fund launched Metanesart. Methanesate carries equipment that can measure methane output from small individual sources over a wide area.

Ritesh GautamMethanesate’s lead scientists explained that the project revealed some major overlooked methane emitters. Since its launch, Metanesart has discovered that in the US, the majority of methane emissions come from many people as well as from some large oil and gas drilling sites. Small wells less than 100 kilograms Per hour.

“While marginal wells produce 6-7% of the US (oil and gas), they disproportionately account for almost 50% of US oil and gas production-related emissions,” Gautam said. “These facilities produce less than 15 barrels of oil per day, but there are over half a million units just scattered around the US.”

There are ways to stop methane emissions, but I don’t use them

The good news is that many of the tools to contain methane are already available from the energy industry. According to the IEA methane report, “approximately 70% of methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector can often be avoided with existing technologies at low cost.”

For the oil and gas industry, that could mean limiting leaks using better fittings in the pipeline and being as simple as installing a methane capture system. Also, because methane is a fuel, selling stored methane can offset hardware upgrade costs. Putting it in the atmosphere is a waste of money and a contributor to global warming.