Tag: methane

Germany looks to farm fumes in breakup with Russian gas

by Florian CAZERES Agence France-Presse RIBBECK, Germany (AFP) – As Germany scrambles to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, the pungent fumes from the manure and other organic waste in Peter Kaim’s farm could be part of the solution. An hour’s drive west of Berlin, a strong smell emanates from three large cylinders in the middle of a muddy field on Kaim’s property shared with 100 dairy cows. Every day, tonnes of organic waste — […]

Damaged Amazon rainforest teetering on the brink

by Joshua Howat Berger Agence France-Presse SAO FELIX DO XINGU, Brazil (AFP) – Something is wrong. Holed up in her lab, Brazilian atmospheric chemist Luciana Gatti crunches her numbers again and again, thinking there is a mistake. But the same bleak conclusion keeps popping up on her screen: the Amazon, the world’s biggest rainforest — the “lungs of the Earth,” the “green ocean,” the thing humanity is counting on to inhale our pollution and save us […]

Major methane deal at climate summit — without China

by Patrick GALEY and Jitendra JOSH Agence France-Presse GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) – Countries on Tuesday issued a landmark pledge to slash their methane emissions this decade, with US President Joe Biden chiding China’s leader for skipping the make-or-break COP26 climate summit. Nearly one hundred nations joined a United States and European Union initiative to cut emissions of methane — a potent greenhouse gas — by at least 30 percent this decade, with China among […]

Gas giants: Can we stop cows from emitting so much methane?

  by Myriam LEMETAYER Agence France Presse That cow may look peaceful and harmless, munching on some grass in a verdant pasture. But don’t be fooled — it is emitting methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas contributing to runaway global climate change. Agriculture is responsible for 12 percent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, much of it due to methane, the second most warming gas after carbon dioxide. Methane is around 25 times more potent […]

Orkney’s seaweed-eating sheep offer hopes of greener farming

by Véronique DUPONT with Stuart GRAHAM in Dundee Agence France-Presse NORTH RONALDSAY (ORKNEY), United Kingdom (AFP) – On a tiny island in Scotland’s far-flung Orkneys, thousands of sheep spend the winter munching on seaweed, a unique diet that scientists say offers hope for reducing planet-warming methane emissions. Around 60 people share North Ronaldsay — an island just over 3 miles (5 kilometres) long, ringed by rocky beaches and turquoise waters off the north coast of mainland […]

Massive California gas leak permanently capped

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A gas well leak that spewed tons of methane into the environment and forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes has been permanently capped, state officials said Thursday. The announcement confirmed earlier reports by the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) that a leaking well at its facility in Porter Ranch had been plugged. The news put an end to a four-month-long drama that saw thousands of Porter […]