Good oil read...

[Peter_Puget]

link

[JoshK]

Good link, thanks.

 

This is pretty wild...

 

"In the more distant future, perhaps a generation or more, lies the potential to develop productive capacity from natural gas hydrates. Located in marine sediments and the Arctic, these ice-like structures store immense quantities of methane. Although the size of these potential resources is not well measured, mean estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey indicate that the United States alone may possess 200 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas in the form of hydrates. To put this figure in perspective, the world's proved reserves of natural gas are on the order of 6 quadrillion cubic feet.

 

"

[Dru]

Methane is a much stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

 

Rapid degassing of methane from gas hydrates is one of the positive feedback mechanisms proposed as contributors to past rapid warming events observed in the geologic record.