Scientists Say They’ve Detected A Huge Methane Leak In Kazakhstan. According to Bloomberg, “A natural gas well blowout in a remote region in Kazakhstan has triggered a huge methane leak, scientists say, showing the risks of prospecting for fossil fuels. Satellites observed giant clouds of methane spewing from the site at least nine times in the month leading up to July 23, French geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS said. Its findings were broadly corroborated by scientists at SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research.” [Bloomberg, 8/3/23 (=)]

Could We Breed Cows That Emit Less Methane? According to Phys.org, “Reducing methane emissions from livestock would benefit farmers and the environment. In a first step towards breeding low-methane-emitting cows, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Pennsylvania State University have identified key differences between cows that naturally emit less methane than average. The study, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, shows that low-emitting cows tend to be smaller and house different microbial communities, and these differences were not associated with reduced milk production or altered milk composition.” [Phys.org, 8/3/23 (=)]

Earth's Early Warmth May Be Explained By Methane-Making Reaction. According to New Scientist, “A recently-discovered chemical process could have led to widespread formation of the greenhouse gas methane when Earth was young. The reaction doesn’t involve living organisms, so could have occurred early in our planet’s history. ‘We identify a potential new source of methane prior to the origin of life,’ says Johannes Rebelein at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany. If enough methane was formed, it could help explain why Earth stayed warm at a time when the sun was dimmer than today.” [New Scientist, 8/2/23 (=)]