Study: Penguins Could Emit 7M Tons of Methane Annually
The Facts
- A study published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science last month estimates that guano from Antarctic chinstrap penguin colonies releases about 490,000 tons of methane each year, an amount comparable to emissions from the world's coastal ocean areas.
- The work was conducted by the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia, part of the Spanish National Research Council, with the University of Granada, showing for the first time that large chinstrap penguin colonies are a significant methane source.
- Researchers took direct measurements at two chinstrap colonies on Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands, using high-precision gas analyzers on the ground and drones fitted with optical and multispectral sensors to map guano-covered terrain.
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The Spin
Climate-concerned narrative
Climate accounting is only as good as the sources it counts, and ignoring wildlife leaves a gaping hole in the ledger. Penguin colonies and wild ruminants pump out methane hotspots that never showed up in the global budget, which means current models rest on shaky guesswork. Honest climate science means measuring every source — even unconventional ones.
Climate-skeptic narrative
Blaming animal burps for a warming planet falls apart the moment the temperature math is calculated, as wiping out every cow on the planet, for example, would barely budge the thermometer. Tens of millions of wild cows had their private moments long before feedlots existed, so the gas was always part of the landscape. As climate alarmists set their sights on new animals, it's important to remember this biological fact.
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