Startling satellite data exposes invisible threat lingering in the air: 'Governments committed billions to technological upgrades'

The amount of methane gas in the atmosphere has increased by two-and-a-half times since the pre-industrial era. Technological advancements in oil and gas production and coal mining have largely caused this increase in methane gas pollution. 

Technological innovation has also made detecting the sources of this pollution easier to identify. Scientists are using techs ranging from satellites, planes, drones, and hand-held devices to detect the pollution. 

What's happening?

On Feb. 4, Momentick, a company that uses satellite imagery to detect, monitor, and stop planet-warming gas pollution, released its 2024 Methane Emissions Report. 

The emissions intelligence company studied satellite imagery of nearly 277,000 square miles to identify methane pollution from oil and gas facilities. The satellite imagery showed that approximately 17% of the monitored facilities worldwide, one in six, are leaking large amounts of methane gas. 

Besides polluting our air and environment, leaked methane gas represents wasted energy. The worldwide loss of methane gas in 2024, equivalent in its global warming potential to nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide, could have supplied the monthly energy needs of roughly 300,000 U.S. households.

Why are methane emissions important?

Methane is a heat-trapping pollutant. While methane leaks waste energy that could be used to heat households, stoves, and water heaters, the gas also accounts for about 30% of global heating.

Methane, an odorless, colorless, and highly flammable natural gas, stays in the atmosphere for a shorter amount of time than the most prominent anthropogenic planet-warming gas, carbon dioxide. The lifespan of the gas is about 10 years, while carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for at least hundreds of years.

This fact does not mean methane is an insignificant contributor to the overheating of our planet because methane gas is more potent. Its potency poses a threat both to the environment and to human health. 

In Texas, 400,000 active oil and gas wells, compressor stations, and processing plants leak methane gas. The Center for Investigative Reporting found that more than 30,000 children in Arlington, Texas, attend public schools within half a mile of wells, and up to 7,600 daycare and preschool-aged children attend centers within the same radius. 

These children are at risk of health impacts from the pollution, but so is everyone else. Families who live near methane-releasing facilities are at extreme risk of illness from the gas, though methane travels enough to harm any healthy person elsewhere. 

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What's being done about methane pollution?

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, efforts are being made to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sectors in an attempt to protect the planet and people. More money is being put into detecting and identifying where methane gas is leaking. 

Momentick CEO and co-founder Daniel Kashmir said, "2024 was an important year on the path to curbing methane emissions. Governments committed billions to technological upgrades and research, while oil and gas operators accelerated progress towards their net-zero goals."

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