[we received two articles on the same subject today from guest authors. each has its own merits-cr]
Guest essay by Kip Hansen – February 10, 2022
I didn’t want to alarm my readers, but the news was so shocking that I had to. Atmospheric methane concentration, a carbon-based molecule, is levitation; it is skyrocketing; it is accelerating. Methane is a Greenhouse Gas! Atmospheric mixed methane concentrations have increased from 1640 ppb to more than 1900 ppb since the early 1980s.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released this terrifying image:
Lucky for us:
Scientists warn of ‘dangerously rapid’ growth in atmospheric methane
Our benevolent and protective class of scientists came to our rescue by raising the alarm – if they hadn’t, we might not have been fully alerted to this dangerous situation.
Serious, nature The breakthrough is, as you might have guessed,: “Some researchers are concerned that global warming itself is behind the rapid increase. ”
Yes, that’s right. Global warming (itself!) could be the cause of the rapid increase.
The author of nature posts, Jeff Tollefsoncalls this a “grim milestone” (however, there’s no reason for this to be grim or a milestone given).
Those interested in this trivial matter should read Nature articles. There are some interesting points in there regarding the suspected and hypothetical sources of methane and the reason for the rather odd rise and fall pattern seen in the multiyear data.
However, here it is:
Key point
1. Always look at the units attached to any numerical data.
1900 ppb (parts per billion) is 1.9 ppm (million)
Or, as a percentage of the atmosphere:
0.000 19 Percent [%]
2. What that means in the Real World™ is very small amounts of atmospheric methane – yes lots of neon and helium atmospheric than methane – that if you search for a single molecule of methane and individually sequence it through MILLIONS of molecules, you might find one or two. You might find nothing in your first billion, but if you sort through the billions enough, your results will average just under 2 per billion. (Good luck!)
3. As the Earth continues to warm and green out of the Little Ice Age, we see more life which means more methane. More life is a good thing.
4. Ozone Methane has skyrocketed! – almost zero.
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Author’s comment:
Almost zero is an important issue. Many of the most common dangers and harms advertised in the mass media are of the “everything” crisis detected at levels best described as “Near Zero”. This is a serious misapplication of the precautionary principle, where the mere existence – mere discovery – of a thing is automatically synonymous with harm.
The more advanced the technology in detection, the more potentially harmful things are found and the alarm is raised.
Give examples in the comments if you want.
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