Reduced emissions due to the collapse of the Soviet Union
After 200 years in which there was an increase in the level of methane in the atmosphere, mainly due to human activity, researchers report that recently the level of the second greenhouse gas has stabilized in terms of its effect on the environment. Climate experts said that although the stabilization of the methane level is likely temporary, it is important evidence that steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may slow global warming. The findings were published in the latest issue of the journal "Geophysical Research Letters".
"This is an important finding," said Dr. James Hansen, a climate researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Research, who for years has emphasized the importance of lowering methane levels. According to him, "we can make the methane level stop rising and even decrease a little, mainly by actions that make sense for other reasons." These operations may include sealing leaks in gas pipelines and capturing gas released during mining or oil drilling.
Actions to reduce methane emissions will bring more immediate results than taking measures to lower carbon dioxide emissions, the most dominant greenhouse gas. The methane remains in the atmosphere for eight to ten years from the moment of its release; It then falls apart. On the other hand, carbon dioxide, which is released in every forest or fossil fuel fire, may remain in the atmosphere for a hundred years and accumulates in the air.
The American and Dutch researchers who measured the change in the methane level said that they found evidence that the stabilization of the methane level in the atmosphere in the years 2002-1999 was mainly due to human activities. Mainly the words are said in the almost complete cessation of oil and gas drilling due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Another reason for the change is apparently an improvement in drilling methods.
However, according to Dr. Hansen, it is still too early to point to a definite reason for the change, because methane has many sources. About 70% of the gas originates from human activities, but methane is released into the air from many other sources including swamps, rice fields, waste sites and the digestive system of cattle and termites.
