Say 'hello' to MethaneSAT. Environment Defense Fund prez sees hope in new IPCC report (Page 1/2)
rinselberg AUG 10, 10:36 PM
You may (or may not) be aware that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC has published the latest version of their big, blockbuster-style reports on the Earth's climate.

It's being called "Code Red" by many a pundit, as if the Earth were a residential building with a fire alarm system that had just awakened all the residents in the middle of the night.

But the president of the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund finds some encouragement in this new report from the IPCC.

It's because of the IPCC's new focus on CH4 or methane:

quote
The latest [IPCC] report has just arrived from more than 200 of the world's most influential climate scientists, and it isn't pretty. This new assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear we are on course to blow through the 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming described in its landmark 2018 report.

But in a year defined by searing heat waves, torrential floods and raging fires, it is encouraging that this same report also suggests a strategy to alleviate some of its most devastating projections.

For the first time in IPCC history, the assessment dedicates an entire chapter to short-lived climate pollutants, casting a spotlight on methane -- the reduction of which would have immediate climate benefits. It shows that methane pollution from fossil fuel operations, agriculture and other activities is responsible for more than a quarter of today's warming.

The good news is cutting this pollution also represents the fastest way to slow the rate of warming. We know how to cut methane pollution quickly and cheaply, allowing us to make crucial progress while we continue to decarbonize our energy systems.

"Frightening new climate report also holds the seeds of hope"
Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund, for CNN; August 10, 2021.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08...red-krupp/index.html

Towards the end of this same relatively brief opinion column in CNN:

quote
Fortunately, the technology for tracking methane pollution has never been better, from hand-held monitors to sensors on aircraft and drones. But the real game-changer is a new generation of satellites designed to locate and quantify methane pollution from orbit.

One of these is MethaneSAT, being built by a new arm of Environmental Defense Fund. The most advanced instrument of its kind, it will quantify total methane pollution with unprecedented precision, measuring methane that other satellites can't detect. Data will be publicly available at no cost, enabling stakeholders to compare reductions across companies and countries alike.


Here's your chance to say 'hello' to MethaneSAT. Figuratively speaking:
https://www.methanesat.org

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 08-10-2021).]

randye AUG 10, 10:57 PM
So you Lunatic Leftists are going to start complaining about cow farts again.

[This message has been edited by randye (edited 08-11-2021).]

rinselberg AUG 11, 01:12 PM
Ha! Good one. Why didn't I think of that?



quote
MethaneSAT, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, has selected Blue Canyon Technologies to supply the platform for its donor-funded satellite.

MethaneSAT said . . . it will use X-SAT, Blue Canyon’s largest offered spacecraft bus, to carry a methane-detection payload from Ball Aerospace. The nonprofit hopes to launch the 350-kilogram satellite in mid-2022, though a launch provider has not yet been selected.

Tom Ingersoll, MethaneSAT project co-lead, described the MethaneSAT satellite as a “sensorcraft,” because of the complexity of the sensor. Payload provider Ball Aerospace, not Blue Canyon, will be integrating the payload, he said. . . .

Ingersoll said the satellite project has a budget of $88 million to cover production, launch and commissioning. MethaneSAT will likely piggyback on a bigger rocket as a secondary payload to keep costs low, he said. . . .

"Blue Canyon Technologies to build its largest satellite to date for MethaneSAT"
Caleb Henry for SpaceNews; January 6, 2020.
https://spacenews.com/blue-...date-for-methanesat/



"The search for the world's largest methane sources"

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Stemming the methane leaks from landfills, oil fields, natural gas pipelines and more is one of the most powerful levers we have to quickly slow global warming.

Cheryl Katz for BBC; August 5, 2021.
https://www.bbc.com/future/...gest-methane-sources

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 08-11-2021).]

rinselberg AUG 12, 12:43 PM
There is more (lots more) in this new article from BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/sc...environment-58174111

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 08-12-2021).]

maryjane AUG 12, 01:26 PM
Ball Aerospace...



(Yes..same parent company that makes jars and cans.
williegoat AUG 12, 01:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Ball Aerospace...



(Yes..same parent company that makes jars and cans.


Well, if you happen to be in space and find yourself in a jam, it could be the best way to get out of a pickle.

Mason jars always make me think of my grandmother.
rinselberg AUG 12, 02:02 PM

Methane bubbles up from a wetland in Sweden (Reuters)

So, here's my first question:
Click to show
Raydar AUG 13, 08:26 AM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:


Methane bubbles up from a wetland in Sweden (Reuters)

So, here's my first question:
Click to show



I wonder how many cars there are, under there.
Wait... they haven't found a way to label this "anthropogenic?"

It'll never fly, if they can't figure out how to tax it.
(Wanna buy some Fart Credits?)

https://youtu.be/VPIP9KXdmO0?t=18

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 08-13-2021).]

FieroSTETZ AUG 13, 06:02 PM
I for one welcome our future pilot-light equipped underpants.

Imagine, little puffs of flame each time someone lets one go...
Jake_Dragon AUG 13, 06:09 PM

quote
Originally posted by FieroSTETZ:

I for one welcome our future pilot-light equipped underpants.

Imagine, little puffs of flame each time someone lets one go...