The two gases in question – methane and nitrous oxide – are potent agents of climate change, with a warming potential 28 and 265 times greater than carbon dioxide respectively. If the same situation is being replicated around the rest of the world’s seas and oceans, we have a serious problem. To put this into perspective, the average cow produces 120kg of methane every year – 1,000 times as much as even the most flatulent human. With almost 100m head of cattle in the US alone, that means that 12m tonnes of gas are being released annually, dwarfing the efforts of the shellfish. The big difference between termites and cattle is, of course, that termites – and the gases they release – are part of the natural ecosystem.

Source: The Guardian October 16, 2017 14:15 UTC