Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas

By:  Timothy Dennis

Every minute of every day, Canada’s oil and gas industry leaks and intentionally vents methane into the atmosphere. It traps 84 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame. Leading scientists estimate that methane is responsible for 25 per cent of already observed changes to Earth’s climate.

Methane is invisible to the human eye but responsible for 25 per cent of already observed changes to Earth’s climate. Optical gas imaging cameras capture polluting gas wells and other facilities in the Montney Basin in northeastern B.C.

Making the invisible visible is a powerful tool for citizens to hold oil and gas companies responsible for their methane pollution problem. These images taken by Earthworks demonstrate the need for stronger regulations for B.C.’s oil and gas industry.

In 2015 and 2016, researchers from St. Francis Xavier University and the David Suzuki Foundation completed the most thorough ground-based measurement of methane emissions ever conducted in Canada.

Scientists travelled more than 8,000 kilometres using a sniffer truck, covering more than 1,600 well pads and facilities.

This groundbreaking research revealed that methane pollution from B.C.’s oil and gas industry is at least 2.5 times higher than reported by industry and government.

Now For The Good News

If we recover the methane by implementing methane plants across North America we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by %30 and provide a viable source of energy.