Methane Earth.

Can you help in reducing this blanket of methane gas that is warming up our Earth ? Recent evidence holds that methane (CH 4 ) is second only to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in creating a warming greenhouse effect but is easier to control. Atmospheric methane has doubled over the past 200 years, and its smothering potency is over 20 times that of CO 2 . Methane may even be responsible for a sudden warming of the Earth by seven degrees Celsius about 55 million years ago. As most methane is produced biologically, the gas is sometimes associated with bathroom humor . The largest abundance released by the US, however, is created when anaerobic bacteria break down carbon-based garbage in landfills . Therefore, a more effective way to help our planet than trying to restrict your own methane emissions would be to encourage efficient landfill gas management .