Methane isn’t just cow farts; it’s also cow burps (and other weird facts you didn’t know about this potent greenhouse gas)

https://ideas.ted.com/methane-isnt-just-cow-farts-its-also-cow-burps-and-other-weird-facts-you-didnt-know-about-this-potent-greenhouse-gas/

Source:   By Kate Torgovnick May, ideas.ted.com. 

Excerpt: Methane, which is created when four hydrogen atoms bond to one atom of carbon, is ...the primary component of natural gas, which generates roughly 22 percent of the world’s electricity (after coal). But methane also has a heavy — and damaging — impact on the planet. “Methane pollution causes one quarter of the global warming that we’re experiencing right now,” says Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund in his TED talk (Let’s launch a satellite to track a deadly greenhouse gas). Carbon dioxide may be the most prevalent greenhouse gas (accounting for 81 percent of emissions), but methane is much more potent. Over a 20-year period, it traps 84 times more heat. So where does the methane in the atmosphere come from? And how can we control it? Let’s get this out of the way: when some people hear the word “methane,” they immediately think about cow farts. ...But in reality, cow burps are much more problematic: 90 to 95 percent of the methane released by cows comes out of their mouths, while 5 to 10 percent is released in the form of manure and flatulence. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock — including cows, pigs, sheep and other animals — are responsible for about 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cows are the primary offenders.... But ...Most methane emissions come, directly or indirectly, from humans ...livestock and farming, decay in landfills, leakage from the oil and gas industry. Since 1750, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has doubled because of human activity. The oil and gas industry is the top contributor, creating one-third of all methane emissions. As companies extract and transport oil and natural gas, methane leaks from their pumps, pipelines and wells at a rapid rate. In June 2018, the journal Science published a paper by EDF and other researchers that showed US oil and gas operations are leaking 60 percent more of the harmful gas than government estimates had predicted....