Methane-tracking satellite may be fastest way to slow climate change

Wofsy, an atmospheric scientist who spent decades investigating climate change, could be enjoying retired life at age 76, but he still has an active lab. Admittedly most projects there are winding down, with one exception: MethaneSAT, which could prove to be something of a game changer. “The reason I’m not retired is that this is obviously way too important — and way too much fun,” said Wofsy, Harvard’s Abbott Lawrence Rotch Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science. It’s important because it could buy the world critical time in the climate change battle. “Methane is a short-lived climate pollutant,” Hamburg said.