Post-Gazette: UC expert talks about methane emissions

Townsend-Small, an associate professor of geology and geography in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, has studied greenhouse gas emissions across the United States. Earlier this year, she found that uncapped, idle oil wells in Texas could be leaking millions of kilograms of methane each year into the atmosphere and surface water.

Townsend-Small has helped policymakers understand the role that different greenhouse gases play in climate change. The New York Times called on her this week to explain how hydrogen contributes to global warming.

As more companies turn to hydrogen for fuel, scientists are scrutinizing its impacts, she told the Times.

“I think this research is going drive the conversation forward,” she said.

In her Q&A with the Post-Gazette, Townsend-Small said not even government regulators have identified all the human-caused sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Her research in California and Pennsylvania also found higher levels of methane emissions than state regulators had recognized previously.

Townsend-Small said more funding is needed for researchers to understand why methane concentrations are rising.

Read the Post-Gazette story.