we can now detect cow farts from space.

For the first time, an instrument onboard an orbiting spacecraft has measured the methane emissions from a single, specific leaking facility on Earth’s surface. The observation — by the Hyperion spectrometer on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) — is an important breakthrough in our ability to eventually measure and monitor emissions of this potent greenhouse gas from space.

2017-06-10: Methane-free cows

Scientists are also tweaking the cows themselves. The Genome Canada project identifies cows that produce fewer greenhouse gases, with the ultimate goal of distributing the responsible genes—conveniently transported in the form of bull semen—to areas that don’t have the resources to develop their own greener cows.

2020-04-02: Rice paddies produce a LOT of methane from the bacteria in the muck. Adding fish to the rice paddies could cut it by 90%
2023-09-08: Methanotrophs

A strain of bacteria called methylotuvimicrobium buryatense 5GB1C can remove methane efficiently even when it is present in lower amounts. If it became widespread, the technology has the potential to help slow global warming.

Typically, this group of bacteria thrive in environments with high levels of methane (5k – 10k ppm). The normal concentrations in our atmosphere have much lower levels of 2 ppm. But certain areas such as landfills, rice fields and oilwells emit higher concentrations of 500 ppm. To implement methane-eating bacteria on a mass scale, 1000s of high-functioning reactors will be needed.

• Uncategorized