Maybe the Fossil Fuel Industry's 'Methane Bombs' Are Just Fake News and We're All Good

We were all just doing fine until some nerd scientists came up with this “carbon dioxide” invented issue. They complained that burning coal, and oil, and gas leads to CO2 in the atmosphere. And this CO2 somehow traps heat from the sun, and then is global warming and climate change, and, bang, we’re doomed.

It sounded like those funny apostles ranting about the end of days on Earth and how we should all repent. Or like that Elon Musk and his Tesla, who suddenly started ranting about electrifying everything and ditching oil-fueled cars, and all that nonsense.

The people went crazy because they were brainwashed, I tell you. I’m sure it’s a global conspiracy against “Make America great again.” And it keeps going now with this methane boo boo, allegedly more dangerous than carbon dioxide.

They say that CH4 is up to 100 times more heat-trapping than CO2. And that it’s already responsible for 25% of global warming and is going to be worse. In 2022, the UN even put in place a global satellite-based system for methane detection. What a waste of money!

So, let me get this straight. Methane is a gas you cannot see or smell, right? And now they invented some high-tech stuff to measure it. Well, folks, it smells like bulshit. And if the so-called capitol insurrection on January 6 had succeeded, we would not be talking about this methane nonsense today.

But let’s play along for the sake of debate. These guys from Kayrros claim that, in 2022, satellites discovered more than 1,000 ‘methane super emitters’ sites. These are mostly fossil fuel facilities, where methane leaks either uncontrolled or, on contrary, on purpose, for ventilating purposes in the extraction process.

Now get this: the top emitters are the U.S., Russia, and Turkmenistan. I never heard of the last one, but I’m sure Russia is to blame, darn communists are a menace to everybody, as you’ve seen in the last year. Oh, but there's more to the story.

These so-called scientists point out that, around the world, there are 55 “methane bombs,” and the biggest three of them are in North America. Now, isn’t that convenient for those Greenpeace eco-terrorists? To blame the proudest nation on the face of the Earth for threatening the climate change mitigation efforts.

Oh, and we’ve also got some statistics on human-caused methane emissions:

- 40% of them are because of fossil fuel exploration, production, and transportation
- 40% are due to agriculture, mainly from burping cattle
- 20% are from rotting waste sites

Where do they come up with these numbers? Oh, the satellites, I forgot. And the high-tech sensors that can ‘see’ and measure the invisible methane. Whom are they tryin’ to fool? Not me, for sure! This is only eco-propaganda trying to convince people that coal mining, oil drilling, and gas exploration are bad for us.

It's bad for them because the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world, and they all want to take it down. Let’s just shut down all the oil industry in the U.S., shall we? And replace it with that moronic wind turbines and solar panels.

The next thing you know, they will blow up America in pieces because they fear our oil&gas power! Don’t you see what’s going on? They want to replace our so-called gas guzzlers with damn electric and hydrogen trucks.

And who owns the lithium? China. Who makes all the batteries? China. Who wants to overtake the U.S.? China. And don’t get me started on how much pollution is those damn batteries accountable for. And how ‘clean’ is the electricity they use.

“Climate change is a hoax” – I couldn’t agree more! The man who spelled it out is a great man. As opposed to that annoying girl who was so insolent to shout “How dare you” at everybody. And everybody was fooled into thinking that oil, gas, and coal are bad for us.

How can they be bad, I ask you? Our nation was built on fossil fuels, they give us jobs, energy, and the freedom to roam in our cars wherever we want and whenever we want. As opposed to those low-range electric carriages that are marketed as the future. Not my future, I’m not ditching my trusted V8 truck. Over my dead body!

I don’t believe these so-called scientists, who estimated the total emissions from the so-called ‘methane bombs’ are equivalent to almost half a trillion tons of CO2. The so-called environment experts claim that this would blow up the carbon budget needed to keep global warming below 1.5C.

But, hey, follow the money. Did you know that, after the carbon tax, from 2024 the U.S. regulations will put in place a methane tax? The companies accused of methane leaks will be charged $900/ton (€850/ton), and from 2026, this tax will almost double.

The good old “let’s tax the pollution” claim, isn’t it? And they will get richer, while we’ll get poorer. And America will fall because of this climate change and extinction hazard nonsense. I can’t wait to see what else they will come up with after this methane thing.

… frankly, I’m tired to try and think like this. I don’t know how some people can ignore evidence, simply by dismissing science. The simple idea of a global conspiracy AGAINST the fossil fuel industry is just like the “Don’t look up!” slogan in that movie starring Leonardo di Caprio. Who, by the way, is an advocate for environmental issues.

All those who deny today’s findings on fossil fuels' harm and climate change menace will eventually accept they were wrong by listening to the naysayers. Most likely, it will be too late for them to acknowledge that. Because the comet will be in plain sight, and there will be no place to hide from the consequences.

I don’t know what ‘the comet’ will look like in a more-than-2C scenario. But we cannot act like it’s not going to happen. I guess the transition from ICE vehicles to electric vehicles is not the best thing to do, but as far as I know, it is the best thing we can do right now and as fast as we can.

And that’s because replacing coal and gas in the energy sector with wind and solar really is the best thing to do in the short and medium term. So, if we’re going to use renewable energy, it’s only logical to adapt the transportation sector to this “fuel.”

Maybe e-fuels could be an interesting solution to over a billion ICE vehicles out there in the next two or three decades. But I doubt it. They are simply an inefficient solution to inefficient technology based on using fossil fuels.

The renewable energy required by producing e-fuels used in internal combustion engines could power two or three times more electric vehicles. So, in my opinion, e-fuels investments are just a waste of money and time.

Maybe a hydrogen-based economy is the best for achieving the zero-emissions society goal. But for now, it only aggravates the methane leaks issue, because it mainly relies on ‘gray hydrogen’, sourced from natural gas. And it also requires much more money and time for technology development.

The waste of time is basically the common ground between e-fuels and hydrogen. The longer it takes for these technologies to become economically feasible, the greater the profits for Big Oil and the higher the climate change risk for the rest of us.

That’s why electromobility is the safest or the least risky bet for the short and medium term. It has its share of ‘collateral damage’, no question about it. But in the greater picture, it has the best ratio of pros and cons.

It's simply dumb to avoid focusing much of the energy and resources of society on a reliable solution, and instead, apply the “don’t keep all your eggs in the same basket” principle. When time is of the essence, you simply must hurry and assume the risk of breaking a few eggs to make an omelet.

At least, this is how the electrohead that I am is seeing things. It doesn’t matter if electromobility is the best solution or the least damaging one. It is the only one we have left right now to gain more time to find a better one in the future.