Dangerous Methane Seeping from Siberian Seabeds

Published on Monday, July 19, 2010 by CommonDreams.org

Methane Seeps, Tipping Points Feared as Congress Sleepwalks

by Gary Houser

"Methane is leaking from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf into the atmosphere  at an alarming rate...  Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming." — National Science Foundation press release (March 4, 2010)    

As the U.S. Senate finally prepares to bring climate-related legislation to the floor, it has become painfully obvious that the most crucial ingredient in any such debate - a true sense of urgency - is completely absent. Despite the fact that all future life on the planet hangs in the balance and a point of irreversible runaway warming is being rapidly approached, the Senate is proceeding as if it is sleepwalking in a stupor. It has allowed the fossil fuel industry to sabotage all effort at meaningful carbon emission reductions, and will only be considering legislation that is woefully inadequate to prevent catastrophe.      

Those who follow this issue likely have familiarity with the concept of "tipping points". This innocuous-sounding phrase does not do justice to its vast meaning. It refers to the crossing of a line whereby tremendous natural forces are unleashed and an unstoppable rush of interlocking climate disruptions wreak havoc on the earth and its fragile web of life-supporting ecosystems. Once set in motion, it cannot be predicted how far the devastation would extend. Geological records have linked a severe climate shift with the "Great Extinction" event which wiped out a ghastly 90% of all life forms on the planet.  

Serving as a direct counterpoint to this disastrous "disconnect" from reality in the Senate is the stunning news that these tipping points may be much closer than previously imagined. Ignored by mainstream media, recent scientific findings have the potential to turn the world as we know it upside down. Situated off the Siberian coast — in an area containing more carbon than that known to exist in all the world's oil, coal, and natural gas reserves — is the climate threat of all climate threats. Some call it the "Arctic super carbon pool". Others call it a "methane time bomb". The reason for this ominous latter description is the quite real threat of an unstoppable chain reaction which could release much or all of this tremendous stockpile. This is a nightmare scenario feared by many tracking the evolution of the climate emergency.

(More here. National Science Foundation report here.)