Focusing On Carbon Misses The Point

I can hardly make it through a day without hearing something about global warming. The discussion typically focuses on carbon emissions. While taking on a single front may be a more effective strategy for winning a war it always helps to pick the right front. Admittedly, Carbon is a greenhouse gas that is being increased due to human activity. But this is true for Methane also. Methane is 20 times more potent than carbon. Carbon comprises 76% of the atmosphere’s greenhouse gases and Methane 13%. But if there is a 1:20 ratio of greenhouse potency for Carbon vs. Methane then the overall ratio of their effect is 76:260. So, why is all of the attention on Carbon? It appears to me that if the greenhouse gas pundits really wanted to stop global warming they should focus on Methane.

Sources:
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse.htm
http://www.epa.gov/methane/