Methane: Small Molecule, Big Impact

摘要

Why so much interest in methahe? Each year microbes produce about 400 million metric tons of this gas, a huge mass that has a profound effect on humankind. Metrh-anogenesis occurs in vast natural and htiman-made environments, but only when the conditions are anaerobic. This situation can be found inside animals (the rumen of cows or insect hindguts), in watery landscapes-(natural wetlands or rice paddies), or at other human-made sites (sewage digesters, landfills, and biogas generators). Indeed, theestimated 1 % annual increase in global methane is mainly attributed to human activities (1).