SpaceX Launch Opens New Front In Climate Fight
A methane-tracking satellite will locate and measure emissions globally and make the data public, ensuring greater accountability.
Can’t run, can’t hide.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Elon Musk was inspired to revolutionize the auto industry to help save the planet from climate change. This week, his rocket company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., may have done more to fight climate change than all the Teslas on the road. That’s taking nothing away from Tesla Inc., which has been a powerful and essential force for progress in reducing carbon emissions. It’s a reflection of the incredible potential of a new satellite that will detect global methane leaks, part of an effort I’ve been glad to support.
On Monday, the Environmental Defense Fund launched a satellite on a SpaceX rocket that will bring a new level of detail and accuracy to the measurement of global methane emissions. Methane is one of the biggest drivers of global warming. In the first 20 years after it is released, methane traps around 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide. By some estimates, methane emissions from human activities account for nearly a third of the atmospheric warming that is causing climate change. Cutting those emissions is one of the most effective ways to slow climate change, and it’s the most urgently needed step we can take right now.