March 12, 2013 | Nicola

I find this worrying. Japanese engineers have become the first to extract natural gas from a potential new fuel source called methane hydrate, also known as flammable or burnable ice.

Japan predicts it has enough deposits to provide its own gas supply for over ten years. This is particularly important as Japanese energy sources are entirely imported and increasingly expensive following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. However, methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, so releasing any extra screams environmental concerns… or the scream could be me!