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One US Oil Field a Key Culprit In Global Ethane Gas Increase
An anonymous reader writes: According to scientists, a single U.S. shale oil field is responsible for much of the past decade's increase in global atmospheric levels of ethane, a gas that can damage air quality and impact climate. The Bakken Formation, an oil and gas field in North Dakota and Montana is spewing nearly 2% of the globe's ethane. That translates to about 250,000 tons each year. "Two percent might not sound like a lot, but the emissions we observed in this single region are 10 to 100 times larger than reported in inventories. They directly impact air quality across North America. And they're sufficient to explain much of the global shift in ethane concentrations," said Eric Kort, U-M assistant professor of climate and space sciences and engineering.The Washington Post has more details (paywalled; alternatively you can read this Gizmodo report)
Ozone in the stratosphere = good
It blocks UV radiation from the Sun and without it there wouldn't be life as we know it on the dry land of Earth.
Ozone in the lower troposphere and at the surface = not so good
It can have serious health effects mainly respiratory in high enough concentrations.
The source is the article linked above. As in, the article you should have read before commenting.
"Ethane reacts with sunlight and other molecules in the atmosphere to form ozone, which at the surface can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation and other ailments and damage crops."