Google Maps & local utilities team up to fight methane leaks

‘Google Maps is about to chart out more than just streets and roads. They’re going to locate methane leaks in cities. A collaboration between scientists, advocacy groups and Google found that equipping the cars with methane sensors helped locate natural gas leaks.
A new feature on Google cars could be a big boon for environmentalists. By pairing these cars with methane sensors, utility companies could be able to pinpoint and track down troubled areas on natural gas lines, according to a study from several Colorado scientists, advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund and Google’s Street View program.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, used an infrared laser methane analyzer on the vehicles. Their ability to detect leaks was not perfect; for small leaks, they could locate them only 35 percent of the time driving by while medium leaks were successfully spotted 63 percent of the time and large leaks were noted with a 74 percent success rate.’
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