MethaneSAT is equipped with advanced sensing technology that allows it to precisely identify methane emissions at oil and gas sites across the globe. The satellite was launched on March 4 and its data will be available to the public free of charge later in 2024.
.
Perhaps you’re thinking the uberwealthy fossil fuel industry initiated and paid for this important satellite. If not the oil and gas folks, perhaps it is the work of government regulators who are tasking with protecting our people and the planet.
Right?
No, the main clue is that everything MethaneSAT measures will be available to anyone. Transparency and honest reporting are not things that interest the industry or our governments.
We can thank the non-profit Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) for MethaneSAT.
Unfortunately, corporations and governments have clung to the notion that there is no need to make comprehensive measurements of escaping methane. Nor do authorities count greenhouse gases that originate from natural events like wildfires. The Globe and Mail reported recently “Wildfires could be triple Canada’s industrial emissions. But they’re excluded from the official carbon tally.“
If you find value at IN-SIGHTS.CA, please consider financial support. Significant payments for site hosting
and subscriptions for software and news sources are required and the site carries no advertising.
As Tony Stubblebine said, “It’s expensive to write about things that you don’t already know.”
Supporting this work is a straightforward process explained HERE.
Categories: Climate Change
in-sights.ca 
I am a little confused because I thought burning fossil methane gas also releases emissions which would accumulate above communities which use “natural” gas? Shouldn’t those emissions be recorded also?
LikeLike
When burned, the methane by-products are mainly carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide is a dangerous greenhouse gas of course, but the unburned methane that is being operationally released is up to eighty times more potent, and not being accurately measured. This is an attempt to fix that and at least reveal where the escapement exists and who is responsible.
LikeLiked by 1 person