"Where Theory Fails": 8 Methane Spikes in 22 Years

Methane Blow-Holes Sign of Runaway Climate Change? <Where Theory Fails>

From an Article by Donna Lisenby, EcoWatch.com, August 2, 2014

Scientists think the mysterious crater found in the Arctic region in Russia may be a giant methane blow-hole that signals the beginning of runaway climate change. They are calling the point when frozen arctic methane in Canada, Alaska and Russia starts erupting into the atmosphere “dragon burps.”

“Dragon’s mouth” … is the name of the crater recently discovered in the Yamal Peninsula, in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Russian scientists said that they believe the 60-meter wide crater could be the result of changing temperatures in the region.

Check out this story that contains graphs showing such elevated methane levels that they labeled them WTF, where theory fails. Rising trend … the “dragon’s breath” methane spikes have been recorded eight times in the past 22 years.

If you have ever wondered whether you might see the end of the world as we know it in your life time, you probably should NOT read this story nor study the graphs or look at the pictures of methane blow holes aka dragon burps.

I think Dr. Jason Box, who has highlighted the appearance of dangerous spikes in methane above Siberia, sums it up best, “If we don’t get atmospheric carbon down and cool the Arctic, the climate physics and recent observations tell me we will probably trigger the release of these vast carbon stores, dooming our kids’ to a hothouse Earth.”

<P.S. A carbon tax is needed in every country, one at a time.>

>>> Donna Lisenby is the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper and the Waterkeeper Alliance Coal Campaign Coordinator from Boone, North Carolina. She appeared in the film Wal-Mart, the High Cost of Low Price where she exposed the retailers appalling failure to protect the environment. She has a Bachelor of Science degree and two grandchildren who motivate her work to ensure a healthy environment for future generations. <<<

Blow Hole named "Dragon's Mouth in Arctic Region of Russia over 70 yards wide. See Part 3 tomorrow.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Giant Methane Monster Is Lurking, Part 2

From an Article by Thom Hartmann, EcoWatch.com, July 7, 2014

Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center have found that Arctic methane is leaking out from the ocean floor nearly twice as fast as was previously thought. The researchers found that the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is releasing at least 17 million tons of methane into the atmosphere each year.

Natalia Shakhova, one of the lead researchers on the study, said methane releases from the Arctic seafloor are, “now on par with the methane being released from the arctic tundra, which is considered to be one of the major sources of methane in the Northern Hemisphere.”

To put this in perspective, just seven years ago, estimates suggested that only 500,000 tons of methane were being released into Earth’s atmosphere each year. Now we’re measuring 17 million tons of it. Just in the Arctic.

Now, we can’t directly stop Arctic sea ice from melting and releasing methane into the atmosphere, but we can help stop what’s contributing to that melting in the first place: fossil fuel extraction and usage.

Every day, the fossil fuel industry extracts more and more fossil fuels from the ground, releasing tons and tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That carbon dioxide warms our atmosphere, which hastens the melting of Arctic sea ice, and the release of even more dangerous methane into our atmosphere.

We need to be keeping the remaining methane right where it is, buried deep under a thick sheet of ice. And a great way to accomplish that goal is by introducing a carbon tax.

Putting a price on the amount of carbon that the fossil fuel industry takes out of the ground would encourage less fossil fuel extraction, and more reliance on clean and green energy. With a carbon tax, fossil fuels would become more expensive than renewables.

For every day that America’s fossil fuel industry pumps carbon pollution into our skies, our environment is deteriorating quicker, more and more Arctic sea ice is melting, and climate change and global warming are speeding up.

We have a chance right now to keep the giant methane monster that’s lurking under the Arctic Ocean right where it is, and save our planet in the process.

The time for a carbon tax in America is now!