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Curious how humans make methane? I know cows add significant methane to the atmosphere, but never thought about what else emits methane.
by valgor 5y ago
Curious how humans make methane? I know cows add significant methane to the atmosphere, but never thought about what else emits methane.
- gumby 5y agoMethane comes from biological activity so it’s generated naturally from swamps, forests, bogs, and such. Humans generate a lot of methane (60% of the atmospheric methane). About half is agriculture, some from ruminants but mostly from fields (including paddy fields), silage, waste, and such. About a third is oil and gas and mining. Some comes from the oil well itself but most of it comes from fracturing the rock due to cutting or drilling so the has just seeps out. It’s pretty hard to stop at the source (how do you put a catalytic converter on a swamp?). So you have to go after it in the atmosphere.