February 8, 2012 | Suzy

I clearly remember from chemistry lessons that a gas leak is bad news! Researchers in the US measuring emissions sniffed out levels of leaking methane from gas mining that were higher than previously estimated.

Of all the fossil fuels, gas is the most efficient, emitting the least carbon dioxide when it’s burned. But methane itself is a greenhouse gas that’s 25% better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Results suggest that the levels of gas leaking from new mining techniques such as fracking might undo any environmental gains made by using the more efficient fuel.