Excessive emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity has thickened the atmospheric layer to an extent, where some of the radiation from the sun is trapped within the earth's atmosphere and not reflected back into space.
This is causing the planet to warm more than it should for life as we experience it. Scientists claim that global warming started close to a century ago, but it became worse after the start of the industrial revolution post World War 2.
While there is consensus that carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels is the main cause for global warming, there is one gas that is even more lethal when compared to Co2, and that is methane.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 25% of man-made global warming is because of methane. Methane is 84% more potent than Co2 in the first 20 years after it is released.
Methane from human activity comes from landfills, agriculture, manmade changes to the landscape, microbial activity in wetlands, bio mas burning, livestock & manure management, thawing permafrost, etc. But here are some unexpected sources of methane that was described a few years ago in the Mother Nature Network.
Believe it or not, hydroelectric dams produce methane! How does this happen? It comes from the vegetation that is rotting beneath the surface of the water when the land is first flooded. When a dam is built, the area behind the dam is flooded by water, that leaves a huge amount of vegetable matter - plants and trees that use to exist in the open air - rotting beneath the surface of the water. Rotting vegetation produces methane, and normally would escape into the atmosphere over time. But in a dam, the rotting plants store up their methane in the mud, and when the water lowers, all of that stored methane is suddenly released.
Ocean microbes are another source of methane and it is estimated that as much as 4 percent of the planet's methane comes from the ocean. According to scientists from the University of Illinois and Institute for Genomic Biology, the ocean-based microbe Nitrosopumilus maritimus produces methane through a complex biochemical process the researchers referred to as "weird chemistry."
Rice cultivation is another source of methane and is estimated to produce the third-highest levels of methane from all agricultural processes in 2010, according to an EPA report. Rice is grown in flooded fields, a situation that depletes the soil of oxygen. Soils that are anaerobic (lacking oxygen) allow the bacteria that produce methane from decomposing organic matter to thrive. Some of this methane then bubbles to the surface, but most of it is diffused back into the atmosphere through the rice plants themselves.
Semiconductors, is another culprit! Specifically, the semiconductors in computers and mobile devices are produced using several different methane gases, including trifluoromethane, perfluoromethane and perfluoroethane.
Some of this gas escapes in the waste process. The semiconductor industry has made improvements to reduce waste and emissions, reducing them by 26 percent between 1999 and 2010.
Another major source of methane is from the fossil fuel industry. The methane that escapes from the earth during drilling operations for oil and natural gas is a massive source, known as 'fugitive fossil fuel emissions'.
A study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the amount of methane leaked by the fossil fuel industry has been increasing since the 1980s, and especially so during the last decade.
So what can we all do now. Be aware of methane as a greenhouse gas. Remember that greenhouse gases cause a lot of damage to our planet through extreme climate events caused by global warming. Spread this knowledge. Stop the denial of this syndrome, and do whatever you can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the end, say a silent healing prayer for this beautiful planet of ours!
