Everyone knows that CO2 emissions are wreaking havoc on our atmosphere, leading to climate change. But there’s another gas causing even more trouble, and it gets less attention because it’s colorless and odorless. That gas is methane, and it’s a climate change powerhouse. In fact, methane is more than 100 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And now as The Washington Post reports, the United States is producing more methane emissions than any country in the world.
The growth of methane in the states has multiplied enormously ever since the explosion of the natural gas production operation known as fracking. One watchdog group recently argued persuasively that the government might not know even how much methane is being released into the sky as a result of the fracking process.
The group says the confusion lies with faulty data and measuring equipment being used extensively throughout the natural gas industry.
