Atmospheric methane concentrations are of interest because it is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Atmospheric methane is rising. It remains in the atmosphere for 12 years. Early in the Earth’s history carbon dioxide and methane likely produced a greenhouse effect.

When methane burns in the air it has a blue flame. In sufficient amounts of oxygen, methane burns to give off carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). When it undergoes combustion it produces a great amount of heat, which makes it very useful as a fuel source. Methane is a very effective greenhouse gas.

“The specific activities that we linked to the biggest increases were raising livestock, coal mining, waste disposal in landfills, and gas and oil production.” Across the study years, wetlands contributed 30 percent of global methane emissions, with oil, gas, and coal activities accounting for 20 percent.

Global methane emissions have risen nearly 10% over the past two decades, resulting in record-high atmospheric concentrations of the powerful greenhouse gas. Atmospheric concentrations of the gas — 1,875 parts per billion last year — are now more than 2.5 times above pre-industrial levels (see ‘Record high’).

agriculture

During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane released globally was from human activities, while natural sources contributed about 40% (230 million tons). Reducing methane emissions by capturing and utilizing the gas can produce simultaneous environmental and economic benefits.

Humans are a bigger source of climate-altering methane, new studies suggest. Biological methane can be released from rotting plants and burping cows, whereas geological sources include natural seeps from fossil fuels and leaks from natural gas and coal mining operations.

Indeed, carbon dioxide, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion, is the principal greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. However, other greenhouse gases including methane, nitrous oxide, and a number of industrial-process gases also are important contributors to climate change.

The evidence is clear: the main cause of climate change is burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. When burnt, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the air, causing the planet to heat up.

And as for water pollution… 14 billion pounds of plastics are dumped into the ocean each year, contributing to 1.5 million children’s deaths, and poisoning our precious sea life….

• Transport. It’s no secret that transport is a key contributor to greenhouse gasses.
• Construction work.
• Technology.

Bangladesh

The top 10 most polluting companies as per BFFP:

• Coca Cola.
• Pepsico.
• Nestle.
• Unilever.
• Modelez.
• Mars.
• P&G.
• Philip Morris International.

For the third year in a row, Coca-Cola is the number one top global polluter with plastic waste among the most famous brands.

In December 2020, following global clean ups and brand audits, Coca-Cola was named the world’s worst plastic polluter for the third year in a row.

In a bid to address its climate impact, Coca-Cola has achieved its goal of reducing relative CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2020 compared with the 2010 baseline. To address its monumental waste impact, Coca-Cola also set a target of using 50 percent recycled content in all its packaging by 2030.

A can of pop contains 2-3g of CO2 – a tiny proportion of the six tonnes of CO2 per year (or 17kg per day) that the average person in the UK is responsible for.

Since the 1990s Coca-Cola has been accused of unethical behavior in a number of areas, in- cluding product safety, anti-competitiveness, racial discrimination, channel stuffing, dis- tributor conflicts, intimidation of union workers, pollution, depletion of natural resources, and health concerns.

Coca-Cola has been accused of dehydrating communities in its pursuit of water resources to feed its own plants, drying up farmers’ wells and destroying local agriculture. The company has also violated workers’ rights in countries such as Colombia, Turkey, Guatemala and Russia.

World of Coca-Cola has achieved official “green” status as an environmentally friendly building, and was awarded a “Gold” rating by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).