Uc Science Today

Researchers may have underestimated the amount of methane emitted into the atmosphere in certain parts of the country. That’s according to physicist Marc Fisher of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “We conducted a study of methane emissions from San Francisco Bay Area and we found that emissions are roughly one and a half to two times the emissions expected based on inventory estimates, counting how many landfills, how many cows, how many wastewater treatment plants, how many different things that might emit methane.” So what does this discovery mean for us? “From a human health perspective methane itself is not a hazard unless it reaches such high levels that it combusts, but it is a very potent greenhouse gas." And this requires better management of the pollutant sources, like landfills, to reduce its contribution to climate change.