Methane. What does it have to do with climate change, and how can we capture it?

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Methane is a molecule that causes a bit of a conundrum: On the one hand, it’s a fuel that burns cleaner than coal or oil (it could be a bridge fuel to reach a renewable energy future, some believe). On the other hand, it’s a greenhouse gas that’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Controlling methane leaks and emissions, both climate scientists and activists say, is crucial for controlling global climate change.

Hosts Caitlin Saks and Arlo Perez Esquivel investigate this tricky molecule -- and its dancing abilities -- by tracing it to its source, both in nature and in the city. And they meet with Boston University’s Nathan Phillips and MIT’s Desiree Plata to figure out exactly why this molecule is so efficient at heating both our homes and our planet—and how scientists are trying to stem the flow of the molecule into the atmosphere.

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Note: An earlier version of this video misstated that the vibrational frequencies of methane overlap with the outgoing energy from Earth that is thermal in nature, heat energy. This is technically incorrect; the vibrational frequencies of methane overlap with the infrared radiation frequencies leaving Earth — this is light energy, not “heat energy.” This error has been corrected in the current version of the video.

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You can seek out our hosts here:
:: Caitlin Saks ::
Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitlin_saks

:: Arlo Pérez Esquivel ::
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perezarlo

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Produced and Hosted by: Caitlin Saks and Arlo Pérez
Associate Producer: Angelica Coleman
Associate Researcher: Christina Monnen
Science Advisor: Matthew Eddy
Animation: Edgeworx Studios
Executive Producers: Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt

Executives in Charge for PBS: Brandon Arolfo, Adam Dylewski
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: Niki Walker
Digital Editor: Hanna Ali
Senior Digital Editor: Sukee Bennett
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Digital Managing Producer: Kristine Allington
Coordinating Producer: Elizabeth Benjes
Director of Public Relations: Jennifer Welsh
Legal and Business Affairs: Susan Rosen and Eric Brass
Director of Audience Development: Dante Graves

Archival: Lillie Paquette / MIT School of Engineering; Maryland Astrobiology Consortium/NASA/STScI; NASA Johnson; Pond5; Shutterstock; Storyblocks
Music: APM

Funding for NOVA provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the NOVA Science Trust.

Original Production Funding for Out of Our Elements provided by
Anne Ray Foundation, a Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropy

Out of Our Elements is a production of GBH.
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