Episode 4: Methane – The Super-powered Greenhouse Gas

Why worry about methane as well as carbon dioxide? In Episode 4 of The Climate Classroom, Graham and Belle explore methane: a powerful greenhouse gas that stays in the atmosphere for much less time than CO₂. Discover where methane comes from, why the same banana peel behaves differently in compost and landfill, how microbes in a cow’s stomach produce methane, and how captured landfill gas can help generate electricity. Join the family, teacher and friends for clear climate science, illustrations and a quick quiz. Teachers and families can pause the video to discuss the charts, compare the two waste pathways and answer the questions together. CHAPTERS 0:00 Methane: the super-powered greenhouse gas 0:57 Belle’s question 1:17 Methane and CO₂: two greenhouse gases 2:19 How powerful is methane? 2:38 Why methane is short-lived 4:05 Where methane comes from 5:21 Compost and landfill: two different paths 7:07 Cows, microbes and methane 8:14 How farmers can reduce methane 8:40 Quick quiz 9:07 Turning landfill gas into electricity 10:48 Belle’s question, answered 11:03 Next time: why forests matter What would you like to ask Belle? Leave your climate question in the comments. Explore The Climate Classroom: https://theclimateclassroom.org Subscribe for more calm, clear climate science in simple English. #TheClimateClassroom #Methane #ClimateScience