The fires that burn excess gas at oil fields, landfills and manufacturing plants pollute the atmosphere more than they are given credit for, University of Michigan scientists found in a recent study.
They hope their research highlights a simple step facilities could take to significantly mitigate climate change.
"We found that flares are releasing a lot more methane than we previously thought," said Genevieve Plant, lead author on the study and assistant research scientist in the University of Michigan's Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering department.
