Methane –Global Warming Effects

Posted on June 23, 2009 in Latest News

Apart from carbon dioxide, many other gases are responsible for global warming – and these gases are usually neglected. One such gas is methane, which is an important non-CO2  greenhouse gas. Methane can aggravate global warming and thereby lead to floods, stronger hurricanes, and put mankind at a risk.  The effect of methane on global warming is high and ways should be devised to decrease methane gas production.

The Dangers of Methane –Global Warming
Why is Methane dangerous? Methane is 21 times more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.  The concentrations of methane gas have been increasing rapidly in atmosphere when compared to CO2. Methane can stay in the atmosphere for about 7 years, trapping the heat and reflecting it back to earth. The infrared radiations are reflected to the earth by the methane, thereby increasing the global warming.

The effect of methane, however, is shorter than that of CO2. While CO2 can affect the earth for 100 years,  the impact of methane is for  7 years. However, it should be remembered that its effect is 21 times the effect of CO2.

The sources of methane include combustion of petroleum, natural gas. Coal mining, animal agriculture, waste water sludge, manure, agricultural waste, land fills, the decay of silt in rivers oceans are other sources of methane.

How to decrease the effect of methane on global warming? Stopping those activities which produce methane can help in decreasing the effects of methane. The use of fuels which are not derived from petroleum should be encouraged. Methane can be burned, especially in landfills to produce CO2. Animal agriculture and meat production should be regulated to reduce the production of methane.

Electrolysis, utilization of metal catalysts can be done to minimize the production of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas which can have severe impact on the earth’s atmosphere and it should be minimized to reduce the impact of global warming.

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