global warming acceleration? Satellite found a "super methane emitter", which is more terrifying than carbon dioxide
As early as many years ago, scientists have realized the impact of "methane" on global warming. For example, in the 1990s, American scientists pointed out that in the future, the greenhouse gas that will have the most serious impact on the earth's atmospheric environment will no longer be carbon dioxide, but will be a steady stream of methane.
As an organic compound, methane exists everywhere on the earth. For example, there are large amounts of methane in glaciers and frozen soil. As they melt, these "ancient methane" are also present in modern times. Release it.
and biological activities in nature can also produce methane. For example, in recent years, many researchers in Europe and the United States have proposed reducing animal husbandry because the farts of livestock are also "methane".
Therefore, in addition to carbon dioxide, which is very intuitive, in fact, "methane", which does not receive so much attention from people, is the hidden "climate killer" on the earth, and may push mankind into a new crisis.
For example, in the magazine "Science Advances" some time ago, a researcher pointed out that satellites discovered a new "super methane emitter" on the earth, and its appearance is also related to humans, or in other words, it is It was humans who created it.
So, who is this "super methane emitter"?
The answer is "landfill". According to data, on the earth, the amount of municipal waste alone is as much as 2 billion tons every year, and the final destination of these wastes is landfills, where , except for part of the garbage that is landfilled, the rest ends up being incinerated.
How much greenhouse gas will this produce? Columbia University in the United States has conducted relevant research and found that landfills in the United States produce at least about 300 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year. What is this concept? Equivalent to 5.5% of the total emissions in the United States, it can be said that this is definitely not a small number.
Especially when looking around the world, there are many countries with low garbage recycling and utilization rates, and the way they treat garbage is simpler and more crude, that is, directly incineration. This also means that in the process, they will continue to The Earth is injecting more greenhouse gases, accelerating global warming.
And because the garbage dump itself is a place where bacteria can easily breed, during this process, bacteria will grow and move, and a large amount of methane will continue to be produced. This also means that even if the garbage is not incinerated, but sold If it is lost, it will also cause serious methane pollution problems.
Many researchers believe that garbage dumps have already become the third largest source of methane emissions on the earth, and if the causes of global warming are divided, then at least 25% of global warming is related to methane emissions. related.
Naturally, human activities continue to inject various greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere, causing the earth's climate to overload and rotate. There is no time to consume and adjust the climate balance. Global warming is accelerating, and climate criticalities are reached one after another. It is inevitable that the point will be broken.
So, how many critical points does the earth have? Are they all broken?
Research believes that there are a total of 15 climate tipping points on the earth. However, as early as 2019, Australian meteorologist Stephen published a research article in the magazine "Nature", saying that humans Nine critical critical points have been broken, namely: West Antarctic ice sheet, Arctic sea ice, Greenland ice sheet , permafrost, parts of East Antarctica, Amazon rainforest, boreal coniferous forest, and warm water corals. and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.
What will happen to the earth when these critical points are exceeded? To give a vivid example: the current climate of the earth is like a ship sailing on the water. When the weather is calm, the ship will not be in any danger, but if the wind suddenly starts to blow and the waves are rough, then, There will be a risk of capsizing.
Now many friends have discovered that the earth’s climate in recent years seems to have become more and more unusual. In fact, this is related to the breaking of the climate critical point. To put it simply, the earth’s climate extremes have been activated, and it is possible There is no way to return to the original stable state. If the remaining six critical points are also broken by humans, then the earth may no longer be suitable for human survival.
Many researchers regard the "climate tipping point" as the last straw for mankind, because it is closely related to the fate of mankind. Maybe some friends have watched the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". The background of the story is that the earth suddenly entered an ice age because the climate critical point was broken.
Although the situation inside has a high probability of not happening in the real world. After all, the earth's climate change is a slow process, and it is impossible for earth-shaking changes to occur overnight, but this is like " boiling in warm water" "Frog " still needs everyone to pay attention to it, otherwise, our tomorrow may be "the day after tomorrow", what do you think?
