Gregg Easterbrook suggests reducing emissions of methane, which is "20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide." He argues that "methane regulation has more short-term potential to slow climate change than does carbon regulation" and that "there would be no economic harm" from such regulation because "methane leaks from natural gas drilling, for example, don’t serve any economic purpose":
[One] reason methane goes overlooked is that environmental advocates want global warming concerns framed as blame-America-first. Because the United States energy economy is dependent on coal and petroleum, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are high. Because the European energy economy is dependent on natural gas, European methane emissions are high. By keeping the global warming focus on carbon dioxide, enviros keep the finger pointed at the United States.
The Dish 