News
Cow burps measured from space, revealing contribution to climate change
For the first time ever, scientists have measured cow burps from space. This might seem strange, but when cows burp, they release methane into Earth’s atmosphere, and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, or a gas that contributes to global warming.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
State of Play
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.