EDUCATION: GLOBAL METHANE INVENTORY

Research Project 1: Per Capita Methane Emissions: A Fairer Way of Producing Methane Inventories?

Introduction

Specifications

Time: 2 to 4 weeks

This project can easily be adapted to include a team of students and become a semester-long project by increasing the number of countries/regions and sources to be studied.

Problem

• How much methane is each person in a state, country or region responsible for as a producer or consumer?
• This project will focus on rice, animals and landfill sources.

Background

The United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization Climate Convention called for every country to compile an inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions. Based on these inventories, the Kyoto Protocols called for specific percentage reduction in emissions for each country relative to the 1990 reference year. Poorer developing countries are asked to make sacrifices that are more economically and socially challenging than those for developed countries. Most anthropogenic methane produced in developed countries comes from fossil fuel use. Developing countries produce most methane as a result of food production. Is it fair to ask developing countries to reduce their emissions the same percentage as developed countries?

Presently, total emission inventories of all greenhouse gases for a country are used as the basis for reductions in greenhouse gases. Another, and perhaps a fairer way, of presenting these inventories is by per capita emissions from each source. This would provide a picture of each source and the impact of reducing that source would have on each person in that country. A large country may produce a large total emission, but how much is each person responsible for?

Preliminary Lesson

Lesson 2-3, "Who Contributes the Most Methane?", introduces the skills and data necessary to carry out this project. It should be completed before carrying out the research project to familiarize the students with the methods used in the project.

Student Tasks

1. The student will prepare a background research paper on methane including:
   • Methane's role in the greenhouse effect.
   • Major natural and anthropogenic sources focusing on rice and cattle.
   • How methane is produced by each source.
   • The Kyoto Protocols.
   • Social and economic impacts of reducing greenhouse gases.
2. Students will need to find out what the major sources of methane are for the area they have selected. This can be accomplished by researching the commodities produced in that area and which of those are methane producers.
3. Students will collect and organize the data for human population and relevant methane emissions for the states/countries/regions they have selected for 1990 or any other year they may select (1990 was selected as a reference year for which data are readily available).
4. Students will use the data to calculate the per capita methane emission for each source for each area selected.
5. Students will create bar graphs of each source to show relative amounts of methane produced from each source for each area selected. They will also produce a graph of per capita emissions for each source for each area for analysis of impact of reduction of that source.
6. Based on their results, students will state their opinion as to whether a single percentage reduction in all sources is fair for that area.

Methodology

1. Select 5 states or countries of similar economic level in the same region.
2. Find the population and methane emissions from rice, animals and landfills for that area.
3. Organize the data in a chart.
4. Calculate the per capita emissions for each source for each location.
5. Draw a bar graph of the emission for each source for each location on one graph.
6. Draw a bar graph of the per capita emission for each source for each location on one graph.
7. Using the graphs, draw conclusions about the per capita emissions form each source for each location selected.

Discussion

State an opinion, based on your results, as to the fairness of using a single percentage reduction for all emissions as called for in the Kyoto Protocol.

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