“First, the probability of this pulse happening is high, at least 50 percent according to the analysis of sediment composition by those best placed to know what is going on, Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov. Moreover, if it happens, the detrimental effects are gigantic… the risk of an Arctic seabed methane pulse is one of the greatest immediate risks facing the human race… Why then are we doing nothing about it? Why is this risks ignored by climate scientists, and scarcely mentioned in the latest IPCC assessment? It seems to be not just climate change deniers who wish to conceal the Arctic methane threat, but also many Arctic scientists, including so-called ‘methane experts.” (Peter Wadhams, pg. 127-28)
(The above quote is from a CounterPunch article on a growing apocalyptic climate event. the image used for this post is of methane gas bubbling up at the East Siberian Sea)
Here is a pdf to download the book, Farewell to Ice, on the methane threat posed by melting arctic ice written by Cambridge scientist Peter Wadhams….
This reminds me of the methane leaking, derelict oil wells in Alberta. In the Tyee a few years back, I read some articles by Andrew Nikiforuk about this problem and how the provincial government and its regulator never forced oil companies to allocate funds for properly shutting the wells down.
Thru the years, a number of these companies went bankrupt or were never sufficiently capitalized in the first place to fix the problem. The wells were just left. As a result, the public is left having to bear the enormous costs of clean up. This was in contrast to other jurisdictions [e.g. North Dakota] that had compelled companies to put funds aside for this purpose as part of the licensing agreements for exploitation.
Of course, there was nothing to be found on the CBC about this, just whinging that political uncertainty meant that we weren’t making the best of our resources and workers were left without jobs.
Finally, last week, the CBC did do a news item on the situation and they could just have well gone into the Tyee archives for the copy. Years wasted by governments and by the so-called public media. The only new thing added was a comment by the relatively newly minted premier.
Tho the CBC did mention years of neglect by the PC provincial government and regulator, Kenney just said that “you can’t wring money from a stone” referring to the defunct or recalcitrant companies. He’s sure ready to take responsibility and the public broadcaster is going to hold him to it, right? Just like the latter hold the RCMP to account as they wage military campaigns against native people on their land.
Sadly, this methane issue may share a similar fate of neglect. Minimally, attention should be turned to the topic from all quarters. If the perils are indeed real and immanent, this situation is a lot worse.