Methane and Climate Change

Here's an aspect of environmental news that isn't getting much coverage.

Ten to 15 years ago there were people telling me that global warming (now called climate change) wasn't being caused by people. It was because of belching and farting cattle. And indeed, methane from many sources...not just cattle...is bad for the environment. It is 20 times more potent than CO2. According to an article in the National Geographic, "Burn natural gas and it warms your house. But let it leak, from fracked wells or the melting Arctic, and it warms the whole planet."

Today those same people are saying the argument is ridiculous because the Obama Administration wants to regulate methane emissions. The focus is again on farting cattle...not the whole picture. The language used is derisive and ladled with name calling. Do those who were backing Methane as the leading cause of global warming ten years ago have short memories, or are they just arguments of convenience?

Isn't there a journalistic responsibility here? When these people speak up, they should be called out on this. The truth might not set them free, but the rest of us need to know.