A new satellite was just launched that will expose methane polluters. MethaneSAT, which we introduced in an earlier post, is a collaboration between the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund and Harvard University. The satellite has the capacity to cover a wide area and yet can also be specific about the sources of methane. It will start sharing data later this year and it will be available online for free.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that heats up the atmosphere much faster than carbon dioxide so reducing how much methane is released has a big impact.
The data is expected to reveal the big emitters in the oil & gas industry and hopefully they will be held accountable.