US Methane Emissions Vastly Underestimated - LA Times

[hatrack]

"Oil and gas drilling across much of the Southwest produces far more emissions linked to global warming than previously realized, according to a new study by University of California scientists.

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'Based on these findings, it apears that the U.S. is emitting 4 (million) to 6 million tons more methane per year than previously estimated,' said F. Sherwood Rowland, a leading authority on global air pollution at UC Irvine. 'In fact, our study suggests that total hydrocarbon emissions are higher now than stated in current estimates. This means the American air pollution problem has still another new, significant aspect.'

EDIT

Using about 350 measurements in 2001 and 2002, scientists discovered high concentrations of hydrocarbons, including methane, ethane, propane and butane, over hundreds of miles in and around Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma capital contained more than double the amount of hydrocarbons than air in more densely populated urban areas of the United States, the study shows The researchs also found unexpectedly high levels of alkyl nitrates, a byproduct of ozone formation.

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While oil and gas wells have long been known to emit air pollutants, researchers said they were surprised at the quantities of methane detected. Methane is 21 times more efficient than carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, at trapping heat near the Earth. It had been estimated that energy production in the United States released about 6 million tons of methane annually. But the new study showed actual methane emissions from those sources may be nearly double that amount."

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[cprise]

1. Bad news for hydrogen

In more ways than one.

If there is so much leakage and no sequesterization going on now, what on Earth makes people think oil corporations will want to do these necessary things when producing hydrogen?