Bezos’ Blue Origin Methane Emissions Were Spotted by the Space Station
A plume of the greenhouse gas from the billionaire’s rocket site was detected by an instrument on board the International Space Station.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin LLC.
Photographer: Matthew Staver/BloombergMethane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is thought to be responsible for more than a quarter of global warming experienced to date. Controlling it is such an urgent priority that President Joe Biden recently hosted a “Methane Summit” at the White House.
Most of the problem stems from just a few kinds of places: natural gas wells and pipelines, cattle feedlots, coal mines, rice paddies, and landfills. But occasionally, the scientists who hunt for large methane releases find them in surprising spots. Such was the case on June 4, when a plume of the gas was detected at the sprawling ranch in West Texas where billionaire Jeff Bezos tests space rockets.