Short answers, pulled from the story.
Alessandro Volta discovered methane in November 1776 while fishing on Lake Maggiore. He collected the gas from marshes and demonstrated that it was inflammable, marking the first scientific characterization of the compound.
Methane serves as the primary component of natural gas, accounting for approximately 87% by volume. It is extracted from geological deposits known as natural gas fields and transported via pipelines or as liquefied natural gas for global distribution.
The livestock sector in general produces 37% of all human-induced methane, and a 2013 study estimated that livestock accounted for 44% of human-induced methane. Ruminants such as cattle belch out methane, accounting for about 22% of the U.S. annual methane emissions to the atmosphere.
Methane has a global warming potential of 29.8 ± 11 compared to carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. A leak of one tonne of methane is equivalent to emitting 82.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Methane clathrates form under high pressures and low temperatures, typically found in arctic permafrost and along continental margins beneath the ocean floor. These deposits represent a vast reservoir of energy that could be harnessed for future use.
Methane has been detected on all planets of the Solar System and most of the larger moons, with the possible exception of Mars. The gas is also found in vast abundance on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, where it exists in a liquid form on its surface.