5 Comments

Sam - This is an excellent and timely overview of the chemistry and processes that make methane such an important pollutant to control. It’s good to remember that in climate change, the ‘short term’ effects will likely be the rest of some of our lives. A 30% reduction is a start, though there is no reason to feel satisfied once that goal is achieved. Thank you for the research and clarity!

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much!

Expand full comment
founding

Really good summary of a big problem coming from a small country. I wonder what caused that Darzana hell crater? A good screenwriter could make a scifi/horror movie script. Movie profits goinging to Turkmenistan methane mitigation efforts! 😉

Expand full comment

Wow, I learned a lot here. I recall last year when the problems with Turkmenistan’s methane emissions entered the climate conversation; I’d been wondering if anything came of it. Thanks for the update. I recall several sites in the U.S. being singled out for fugitive CH3 emissions as well, but the chart above makes clear these are somewhat minor in comparison (though still important to address). Definitely feels like some of the lower-hanging fruit we should be able to address without too much trouble, at least compared to other contributors to climate change. Fingers crossed.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed this article! (Also, just checking that I didn't mislead you by accident, there's still a big fugitive methane emissions problem in the US (as the "emitting events" map shows), and the chart with Turkmenistan at the top shows methane emissions *intensity* not total methane emissions, i.e. there's more methane emitted per unit of fossil fuels extracted in Turkmenistan, due to poorly maintained infrastructure).

Expand full comment