Methane is a molecule that causes a bit of a conundrum: On the one hand, it’s a fuel that burns cleaner than coal or oil (it could be a bridge fuel to reach a renewable energy future, some believe). On the other hand, it’s a greenhouse gas that’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Controlling methane leaks and emissions, both climate scientists and activists say, is crucial for controlling global climate change.

Hosts Caitlin Saks and Arlo Perez Esquivel investigate this tricky molecule — and its dancing abilities — by tracing it to its source, both in nature and in the city. And they meet with Boston University’s Nathan Phillips and MIT’s Desiree Plata to figure out exactly why this molecule is so efficient at heating both our homes and our planet—and how scientists are trying to stem the flow of the molecule into the atmosphere.

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Note: An earlier version of this video misstated that the vibrational frequencies of methane overlap with the outgoing energy from Earth that is thermal in nature, heat energy. This is technically incorrect; the vibrational frequencies of methane overlap with the infrared radiation frequencies leaving Earth — this is light energy, not “heat energy.” This error has been corrected in the current version of the video.

PBS Terra

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