?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4075%2F&rft.title=The+Greenhouse+Gas+Methane+(CH4)%3A+Sources+and+Sinks%2C+the+Impact+of+Population+Growth%2C+Possible+Interventions&rft.creator=Heilig%2C+G.K.&rft.description=Methane+(CH4)+is+one+of+the+trace+gases+in+the+atmosphere+that+is+considered++to+play+a+major+role+in+what+is+called+the+%22greenhouse+effect.%22+There+are+six+major+sources+of+atmospheric+methane%3A+(1)+emission+from+anaerobic+decomposition+in+natural+wetlands%3B+(2)+emission+from+anaerobic+decomposition+in+paddy+rice+fields%3B+(3)+emission+from+livestock+production+systems+(including+intrinsic+fermentation+and+animal+waste)%3B+(4)+biomass+burning+(including+forest+fires%2C+charcoal+combustion%2C+and+firewood+burning)%3B+(5)+anaerobic+decomposition+of+organic+wastes+in+landfills%3B+and+(6)+fossil+methane+emission+during+the+exploration+and+transport+of+fossil+fuels.++Obviously%2C+human+activities+play+a+major+role+in+increasing+methane+emissions+from+most+of+these+sources.+The+worldwide+expansion+of+paddy+rice+cultivation%2C+livestock+production%2C+and+fossil+fuel+exploration%2C+in+particular%2C+have+contributed+to+the+increased+methane+concentration+in+the+atmosphere.++Several+data+sets+help+estimate+atmospheric+methane+concentration+up+to+160%2C000+years+back.+Major+sources+and+sinks+of+present-day+methane+emission+and+their+relative+contribution+to+the+global+methane+balance+demonstrate+great+uncertainties+in+the+identification+and+quantification+of+individual+sources+and+sinks.+Most+recent+methane+projections+of+the+Intergovernmental+Panel+on+Climate+Change+(IPCC)+for+2025+and+2100+are+discussed+and+used+to+estimate+the+contribution+of+population+growth+to+future+methane+emission.+Finally%2C+the+paper+discusses+the+options+for+and+the+restrictions+of+reducing+anthropogenic+methane+emissions+to+the+atmosphere.&rft.publisher=RR-94-014.+Reprinted+from+Population+and+Environment%2C+16(2)%3A109-137+(November+1994).&rft.date=1994&rft.type=Monograph&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text&rft.language=en&rft.rights=cc_by&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4075%2F1%2FRR-94-14.pdf&rft.identifier=++Heilig%2C+G.K.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F1318.html%3E++(1994).++The+Greenhouse+Gas+Methane+(CH4)%3A+Sources+and+Sinks%2C+the+Impact+of+Population+Growth%2C+Possible+Interventions.+++IIASA+Research+Report+(Reprint).+IIASA%2C+Laxenburg%2C+Austria%3A+RR-94-014.+Reprinted+from+Population+and+Environment%2C+16(2)%3A109-137+(November+1994).+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F27503384