Methane. CH4.
It's a powerful greenhouse gas with over 25 times
the atmospheric warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Invisible to the human eye, methane can spew from oil
and gas operations, agriculture and landfills.
We have about 2600 landfills across the U.S.
and many are well operated.
Here in Raleigh, we have one of the best controlled sites
that I've seen in the country, and a great example of being a good neighbor
and making sure that they really control that methane.
With the NASA methane data, the EPA's more effective
in identifying the landfills that are most harmful to our environment.
Tracking human caused methane emissions from space
is a relatively efficient, rapid approach that can inform our efforts
to combat climate change in the near term.
Using the vantage point of space,
NASA's scientists are now able to pinpoint methane emissions at the source.
Methane is just a small fraction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
But because methane molecules are efficient at trapping heat,
they contribute significantly to global warming.
With new observation based maps from NASA, agencies,
governments and facility operators can identify abnormally high emissions
and take action to stop or reduce them.
This saves resources, long term operating costs
and improves human health through better air quality.
Reducing emissions from large sources
is a quick way to reduce warming over coming decades.
But reducing methane emissions is just one step
in the fight against climate change.
We also have to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from human activities,
the main driver of climate change and critical to limiting global warming.
Unlike methane, carbon dioxide molecules can stay in the atmosphere for centuries.
Slowly, but steadily warming our planet.
To track changes in carbon dioxide and methane emissions, NASA uses data
from its satellites, along with data from federal and international partners.
Stitching these data together with complex numerical models
to get the most complete picture of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
These data sets are critical for demonstrating the consistency
of satellite data records and showing that our efforts to reduce
emissions are effective at slowing climate change.
With NASA data, we understand how much methane is coming out of landfills.
We look at the measurement data to prioritize which landfills to inspect.
It's a pivotal time not just for EPA, but for all humankind.