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Faster Global Warming From Permafrost Melt

jc42 writes, "A recent study published in Nature documents the accelerating release of methane from melting permafrost. Methane is a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide, so this may signal more rapid warming in the near future. If you don't subscribe to Nature, the Guardian has a good summary of the piece." It's not just Siberian permafrost. One of the major concerns is bogs — they account for a relatively small percent of total surface space, but have a large amount of carbon locked up. No one is sure if the greenhouse effect will cause them to lock up more, or to release more carbon.

2 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A solution by Saven+Marek · · Score: 0, Troll

    The problem with towers like this is they cause a fast rising column of air. air that was once dense and down on the ground. It is essentially a pump powered by the heat of the sun falling on the ground and heating the air down at sea level. Now once the air is thrown up into the air several miles where does it go?

    What will happen is that you cause a bump in the atmosphere that extends higher into space that causes the air to be interacted with by more particles in space, and changes the composition of the atmosphere. Not to mention the atmosphere that is then lost to space.

    What a good idea, pumping the very air we breathe into space so it is modified and lost. We only have so much oxygen on the planet it's not like losing it is a good idea

  2. Re:The Gurdian lies by fredrated · · Score: 0, Troll

    "A gas can not warm the planet." Hey dickhead, thanks for the update. I know plenty of wise asses like you. They get their knickers in a twist when people don't speak and write like mathematicians. Guess what, human language is ambiguous and people are not robots. Unless you are a complete idiot (for which admittedly there is evidence) you know damn well that they meant that methane traps 23 times the heat that co2 traps, fuck you.