Clipmarks | Methane Clips

GM grass trial aims to cut cows' gas

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:52:17 GMT

clipped by: hotdoge3

GM grass trial aims to cut cows' gas

A plan to grow paddocks of genetically modified grass created to cut the greenhouse gases produced by cows is in the pipeline at Crown-owned company AgResearch.

The proposal has already provoked criticism from anti-GM groups, who say outdoor trials could jeopardise New Zealand's reputation as a GM-free dairy exporter.

If successful, the grass could take a slice off New Zealand's methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which make up about half the country's emissions under internationally agreed standards.

GM-free campaigner Claire Bleakley said the trials would divert money from work being done using non-GM legumes and grasses to cut greenhouse gases and increase productivity in animals.

She said the Government should keep funding that research to give farmers the option of staying GM-free.

Methane and nitrous oxide are both waste products produced by grazing animals.

Tags: gm, grass, trial, aims, to, cut, cows'gas

An Open Letter to the Council of the American Physical Society

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:57:06 GMT

clipped by: amgumen
clipper's remarks: Studies of a variety of natural processes, including ocean cycles and solar variability, indicate that they can account for variations in the Earth’s climate on the time scale of decades and centuries. Current climate models appear insufficiently reliable to properly account for natural and anthropogenic contributions to past climate change, much less project future climate.

The APS supports an objective scientific effort to understand the effects of all processes – natural and human --on the Earth’s climate and the biosphere’s response to climate change, and promotes technological options for meeting challenges of future climate changes, regardless of cause.

List of 160 signers of the APS petition available

Clip Source: www.openletter-globalwarming.info

As physicists who are familiar with the science issues, and as current and past members of the American Physical Society, we the undersigned urge the Council to revise its current statement* on climate change as follows, so as to more accurately represent the current state of the science:

Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, accompany human industrial and agricultural activity. While substantial concern has been expressed that emissions may cause significant climate change

measured or reconstructed temperature records indicate that 20th 21st century changes are neither exceptional nor persistent, and the historical and geological records show many periods warmer than today. In addition, there is an extensive scientific literature that examines beneficial effects of increased levels of carbon dioxide for both plants and animals.

Methane Mystery In Colorado

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:34:57 GMT

clipped by: celestialdancer
clipper's remarks: hmmmmm!!!

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

(AP) -- Bernice and Jerry Angely like to show visitors the singed T-shirt a friend was wearing when their water well exploded and shot flames 30 feet high.

The friend wasn't hurt. But that and an explosion at another home weeks earlier forced Colorado to suspend natural gas drilling around this southern plains town until someone could find out why dangerous levels of methane were getting into the groundwater.

Two years later, Walsenburg and surrounding Huerfano County are still waiting, its residents caught in a collision between two of the West's vital resources: Water and natural gas.

"The water is so saturated with methane and other chemicals it is not to be used for human consumption," said Bernice Angely, who's had water trucked to her home 10 miles west of town since her well blew up in July 2007.

Colorado also is rewriting rules that had allowed Petroglyph to discharge water runoff from its drilling into streams and creeks.

Meat creates half of all greenhouse gases

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:23:55 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: People are cutting down rain forests to make grazing land for cattle, or to grow soya beans for cattle to eat. Now the numbers of methane emitting livestock are orders of magnitude greater than they were only 50 years ago.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Climate change emissions from meat production are far higher than currently estimated, according to a controversial new study that will fuel the debate on whether people should eat fewer animal products to help the environment.

In a paper published by a respected US thinktank, the Worldwatch Institute, two World Bank environmental advisers claim that instead of 18 per cent of global emissions being caused by meat, the true figure is 51 per cent.

They claim that United Nation's figures have severely underestimated the greenhouse gases caused by tens of billions of cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and other animals in three main areas: methane, land use and respiration.

"If this argument is right," write Goodland and Anhang, "it implies that replacing livestock products with better alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change.

Scientists are concerned about livestock's exhalation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Cows

emit 37 per cent of the world's methane.

Tags: 1-emissions, 1-farming, 2-increase, 2-record, 3-reported, 3-research, 4-intl

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:08:01 GMT

clipped by: jay8h

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet

Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas

People will need to turn vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”

Direct emissions of methane from cows and pigs is a significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.

One rung at a time

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:36:16 GMT

clipped by: Solar Child

Clip Source: spaceflightnow.com

Astronomers find organic molecules around gas planet

"It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said researcher Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Detecting organic compounds in two exoplanets now raises the possibility that it will become commonplace to find planets with molecules that may be tied to life."

"These objects are too far away to send probes to, so the only way we're ever going to learn anything about them is to point telescopes at them. Spectroscopy provides a powerful tool to determine their chemistry and dynamics."

Rocky worlds are expected to be found by NASA's Kepler mission, which launched earlier this year, but astronomers believe we are a decade or so away from being able to detect any chemical signs of life on such a body.

Tags: life, exoplanet, methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, kepler, hubble

Steak

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:30:48 GMT

clipped by: Vinyl Hippo

Clip Source: bash.org

<SaxxonPike> mmm, steak
<SLASHSPIT> you guys don't respect the environment, do you?
<SaxxonPike> I respect a good dinner
<SLASHSPIT> how can you eat that? cows are like one of the largest contributors of methane gas
<SLASHSPIT> which contributes to global warming and stuff
<SLASHSPIT> so what are you all doing for the environment?
<SaxxonPike> I eat the fucking cows

Tags: funny, lol, global warming

Methane Gas Eruption From Mud Volcanoes

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:18:34 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.fys.uio.no

Methane gas eruption. Photo: S. Planke

Natural mud volcanoes are found in many sedimentary basins world-wide. The most spectacular mud volcanoes are present in Azerbaijan. But they are also present on-shore in places like Pakistan, Trinidad and Indonesia. Offshore mud volcanoes are likely even more numerous, and are common in places like the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Barents Sea.

Burning methane seep. Lokbatan. Photo: S. Planke

1. Active mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan

2. Active mud volcanoes in the Barents Sea

3. Fossil mud volcanoes in the Norwegian Sea and S. Africa

Mud flow, Azerbaijan. Photo: S. Planke

Tags: degassing

The Amazing Mud Volcanoes Of Azerbaijan

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:38:33 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

Bubbling and belching away like witches’ cauldrons, mud volcanoes are one of nature’s more murky oddities. They’re found spattered throughout the world, but astonishingly around 300 of the earth’s estimated 700 mud volcanoes lie in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. Capable of ejecting millions of cubic metres of hydrocarbon gasses plus mountains of mud, these geological marvels – some of them over 200 metres high – are a sight to behold.

Mud volcanoes are concocted by geo-excreted gases and liquids in which solids are suspended. Excreted is the right word too, as 86% of the gas released by these flatulent natural wonders is methane, with the rest of the gases made up of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Just remember to pack your nose peg when you’re planning your next trip to these sights in Eastern Azerbaijan.

Tags: mud volcano

It Has The Stench Of Opportunity

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:41:53 GMT

clipped by: ljsdesign
clipper's remarks: By reducing the amount of the potent greenhouse gas released into the air, the projects also potentially could turn cow dung into dollars, if a climate bill before Congress becomes law.

"Agriculture and agribusiness is what Greeley is all about," Biggi said. "We needed to take that strong traditional economic base and ... merge it with emerging renewable energy and technology."

Waste may be the new energy crop in these parts. But elsewhere, communities are looking anew at power sources such as the sun and wind that may exist in their own backyards.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Climate concerns turn city's smell into cash cow

GREELEY, Colo. – The smell of manure hangs over Greeley as it has for half a century.

These days it's more than just a potent reminder of the region's agricultural roots and the hundreds of thousands of cattle raised on the city's outskirts.

The stench smells like an opportunity.

Investors are lining up to support a planned clean energy park that eventually will convert some of the methane gas released from the manure piles into power for a cheese factory and other businesses. JBS, which runs two of the largest feed yards and the local slaughterhouse, is testing a new technology that heats the cattle excrement and turns it into energy.

The idea is to lure new business to the area with what Biggi likes to call its renewable natural gas — the endless supply of methane from cheap manure

The shift is being driven partly by legislation in Congress that would reduce the gases linked to global warming.

Facts about Neptune

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:21:45 GMT

clipped by: Stumblerz
clipper's remarks: Facts about Neptune

Clip Source: www.stumblerz.com

Facts about Neptune

Here are some facts about Neptune…Many consider the earth the blue planet but in fact Neptune is way more bluer*.

-Like many celestial objects, all of Neptune’s moon’s are named after Greek gods.

-The Great Dark Spot once noticed on Neptune has not appeared since the last sighting. Scientists believe it was just a huge storm.

-Neptune’s rings are named after three people. Adam,Leverrier and Galle two of them who predicted it’s existence and one who discovered it.

-Neptune has an atmosphere of Hydrogen,Helium, Methane and Ammonia(used in houseware cleaning products).

Tags: facts

Energy Crisis Postponed: New Gas Rescues The World

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:18:26 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, said proven natural gas reserves around the world have risen to 1.2 trillion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for 60 years' supply " and rising fast.

"There has been a revolution in the gas fields of North America. Reserve estimates are rising sharply as technology unlocks unconventional resources," he said.

"The common wisdom was that unconventional gas was too difficult, too expensive and too demanding," he said, according to Petroleum Economist. "This has changed. If we ever doubted that gas was the fuel of the future " in many ways there's the answer."

The breakthrough has been to combine 3-D seismic imaging with new technologies to free "tight gas" by smashing rocks, known as hydro-fracturing or "fracking" in the trade.

The US is leading the charge. Operations in Pennsylvania and Texas have already been sufficient to cut US imports of liquefied natural gas (LGN) from Trinidad and Qatar to almost nil,

Clip Source: vortex.plymouth.edu

Clip Source: www.montanasnewsstation.com

Western MT cold breaks records

We haven't just set knew records, we've blown them out of the water. The lowes have been 10, 11 and 8 the last three mornings in Missoula, and we've gone at least nine degrees lower than the old record each morning.

Clip Source: www.missoulian.com

Cold temperatures threaten seed potato crop

BOZEMAN - Record-low temperatures in southwestern Idaho are threatening to destroy at least a portion of this season's crop of seed potatoes.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A fleet of LNG carriers built by Samsung for Qatar

America is not going to bleed its wealth importing fuel. Russia's grip on Europe's gas will weaken. Improvident Britain may avoid paralysing blackouts by mid-decade after all.

The World Gas Conference in Buenos Aires last week was one of those events that shatter assumptions. Advances in technology for extracting gas from shale and methane beds have quickened dramatically, altering the global balance of energy faster than almost anybody expected.

Tags: advances in technology, dramatically quicker process, energy, extract gas from shale and methane beds, world gas conference in buenos aires

Energy crisis is postponed as new gas rescues the world

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:27:07 GMT

clipped by: disenchantedcitizen
clipper's remarks: "The common wisdom was that unconventional gas was too difficult, too expensive and too demanding," he said, according to Petroleum Economist. "This has changed. If we ever doubted that gas was the fuel of the future – in many ways there's the answer."

The breakthrough has been to combine 3-D seismic imaging with new technologies to free "tight gas" by smashing rocks, known as hydro-fracturing or "fracking" in the trade.

The US is leading the charge. Operations in Pennsylvania and Texas have already been sufficient to cut US imports of liquefied natural gas (LGN) from Trinidad and Qatar to almost nil, with knock-on effects for the global gas market – and crude oil. It is one reason why spot prices for some LNG deliveries have dropped to 50pc of pipeline contracts.

We may soon be looking at an era when gas, wind and solar power, combined with a smarter grid and a switch to electric cars returns the country to near energy self-sufficiency.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Engineers have performed their magic once again. The world is not going to run short of energy as soon as feared.

America is not going to bleed its wealth importing fuel. Russia's grip on Europe's gas will weaken. Improvident Britain may avoid paralysing blackouts by mid-decade after all.

Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, said proven natural gas reserves around the world have risen to 1.2 trillion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for 60 years' supply – and rising fast.

This is almost unknown to the public, despite the efforts of Nick Grealy at "No Hot Air" who has been arguing for some time that Britain's shale reserves could replace declining North Sea output.

Tags: gas, technology, energy

Europa's Ocean Has Oxygen, May Support Life

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:43:32 GMT

clipped by: lakotahope
clipper's remarks: Now one has to figure where it comes from on Europa? We know where our oxygen sprang from--minuscule ocean critters (scientific name), and plant life. This planet didn't start off with an oxygen atmosphere....some conclude a chemical reaction took place to release it from the primal waters...can't remember exactly.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

Jupiter's moon Europa is flowing with a buried liquid water ocean that contains much more oxygen than previously thought — enough to possibly support life, scientists say.

There is no solid evidence of life for anywhere besides Earth, but Europa has long been considered a good place to look for biological activity.

Europa's ocean lies beneath several miles of ice, so scientists wondered whether it has much oxygen, which is thought to be created at the surface by interaction with energetic charged particles from the sun. Scientists think oxygen is probably necessary for life's metabolic processes, unless some creatures use exotic chemistry involving sulfur or methane.

The global ocean on Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all the Earth's oceans combined. The new research suggests that there may be a hundred times more oxygen than previously estimated.

Tags: europa, oxygen, more water than earth's

The Economic Revolution Is Already Happening -- It's Just Not on Wall St.

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:32:56 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

The new American revolution challenges the current notions of dog-eat-dog capitalism -- through the building of a parallel economic system that shares, co-operates, empowers and benefits fellow workers and community members.

Over the past few decades, thousands of alternatives to the standard, top-down corporate model have sprouted up -- worker-owned companies and co-operatives, neighborhood corporations and trusts, community-owned technology centers and municipally owned enterprises.

How big is this economic movement in the United States?

It's a huge development. But the president doesn't cover it, and the press, on the surface, is not aware of it.

Are there also new developments on the municipal level?

Many cities are capturing methane from garbage areas and using it to produce electricity, create jobs and make money. They're dealing with greenhouse gases as an enterprise.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

For people who are interested in doing this, www.community-wealth.org is a tool.

Tags: 1-policy, 1-revolution, 2-change, 2-trends, 3-reported, 4-us