CH4 Microbial Solutions

Climate change is an issue that affects everyone and as such a broad based approach that involves all different types of communities can help to address the issues that we are facing. Indigenous communities especially in artic regions bear the distinct burden of climate change due to their homes being regions which facing extremely large changes due to the oncoming climate crisis. These communities also possess a unique level of insight into the history of climate and the landscapes of the lands they inhabit. This knowledge can be used to help in addressing the coming challenges posed by artic thawing exposing carbon reservoirs to decomposition and the release of methane into the atmosphere. It is of natural benefit to collaborate with these communities to help to test and distribute methanotrophic species that may be able to slow the progress of climate change.

Microbes in general possess an amazing evolutionary ability to adapt to their environment through evolution. This can be rapid, but with the quick changes across the planet due to climate change the changes may not be rapid enough to remediate the release of greenhouse gases that a changing environment is introducing. These changes can be ameliorated through the identification and isolation of especially active methanotrophic bacteria. The active NAME gene in these bacteria can be isolated and introduced to other similar bacteria that are native to the environments that are primed to change and start to release more methane.

There is a sizable variability in both type 1 and 2 methanotrophs and their ability to metabolize methane. This offers the option to be able tailor the ability of a species to metabolize to the needs of the area.

It is self evident now that the carbon cycle on Earth has been heavily disrupted and the effects of this are becoming more evident every year. While the earth has natural methods of establishing homeostasis the time periods that these disruptions can be damped down are generally not applicable to human conceptions of time and progress. This has led to the situation that we are in now with nature alone being unable to alone reestablish a negative feedback loop and in fact tipping toward positive feedback. Hope is not however lost as humans can work together with natural processes to help to ameliorate the consequence of human activity.

This is especially true when is comes to natural reservoirs of carbon that have not yet been released into the atmosphere. Climate change right now is exposing these reservoirs right now and they are already starting to release their carbon. This can be addressed but immediate action is needed and the best method of action is to utilize the natural microbes that normally maintain these reservoirs, but to aid them in their ability to digest and keep carbon fixed.

Hiking through the mountains and forests of the world provides a perspective that you cannot find in any city or laboratory. The designs of the natural world have guided human progress and given inspiration in a profound way for the entirety of human history. These elements can be seen to be both separate and integrated to human life, but it is a supreme folly for us to consider that there is no harm that can be done to these elements through out own actions. It is a strange site to look at the changes that humanity has wrought within the lifetimes of those living now and the sites that may never be seen again soon. The effects of climate change which are now becoming self evident are what we must all consider and the actions that we take should be well considered not just for our benefit, but for all those around us.

Beginnings bring a wry sense of anticipation for what may come and a clarity for what needs to be done.