Re:U.S. Exits Paris Climate Accord
by thehappypm on Wednesday November 04, 2020 @09:17AM
(#24989232)
It's a step, though. Methane is inherently unstable and won't stick around in the atmosphere forever once we stop emitting it. CO2 gets absorbed into the ocean very slowly and with acidification as a consequence.
[ Parent
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It's important to say explicitly what "not forever" is here. Half life of methane in the atmosphere is 9 years[0]. Then it decomposes into CO₂ and water; the latter is suspected to be a potent greenhouse gas at that altitude[1].
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[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane#cite_ref-C...
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane#Atmospheri...