Don't Let Late Wintry Weather Fool You: Global Warming's Still Here — Thanks in Part to Fracking

Atmospheric methane — the very potent "other" greenhouse gas — is rising at a shocking rate. Research fingers fracking as a major culprit.

ImaGeo iconImaGeo
By Tom Yulsman
May 19, 2021 8:45 PMMay 20, 2021 4:56 PM
Methane Flaring
Natural gas, which consists primarily of the potent greenhouse gas methane, is flared off at dusk in western Colorado's Piceance Basin. As crude oil production has outpaced construction of infrastructure to transport natural gas extracted during oil production, it has been flared and even vented directly to the atmosphere. (Credit: © ecoflight)

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Last week brought news that 2021 was shaping up to be quite cool globally. And now, as if to underscore it, an unusual May snowstorm is poised to blast Montana's mountains.

But global warming definitely has not gone on holiday. As I wrote in my previous post, we're most likely just seeing the temporary cooling influence of La Niña. Meanwhile, over the long run, our emissions of greenhouse gases are continuing to push the climate system further and further out of balance.

In fact, NOAA announced in April that levels of both carbon dioxide and methane "continued their unrelenting rise in 2020," despite the pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

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