Stu..
Don't let some civil engineer try and tell you something about ocean currents, or some economist tell you something about ice cores. The ONLY scientific data and analysis that matters is that which is in reviewed journals
Absolutely...my point was that one often finds good leads to REAL scientiifc/peer reviewed stuff THROUGH the oil industry/sierra club sites!
Furthermore...when the oil industry attacks the sierra clubs peer reviewed data with peer reviewed data of their own (and vice versa) it gives one a better idea about the totality of the scientific issues on an issue that is clearly unsettled.
Thanks for the info on costs. It would really be a strange union of conservatives and conservationists if we had a movement to switch to nukes!
Now on methane...I think you off on your "big picture sources:
methane.jpg
http://www.epa.gov/nonco2/econ-inv/d...calSummary.pdf
Source: Adapted from de la Chesnaye et al., in press; USEPA, 2006.
NOTE the above table is for man made greenhouse gasses and does not include natural sources which would dramatically alter the totals.
As you can see...Agriculuture (including cows!) and waste are the two biggies worldwide for CH4.
Here in the USA it is similar but with natural gas in second place.
Source 2003
Landfills 131.2
Natural Gas Systems 125.9
Enteric Fermentation 115.0
Coal Mining 53.8
Manure Management 39.1
Wastewater Treatment 36.8
+ other smaller sources
Total for U.S. 544.9
Source:
http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html
BTW...for those unfamiliar...Enteric Fermentaion is what the Beez would call Natural Gas!!