"Methane" What's in a name?
J: Ay, me!
R: They speak!
Odor-not, light angel; for thou art
As glorious to a lamp, being o’er my head,
As is a messenger with wings spread
Up to the grey, gassy-emitted skies
From pollution, that fall back to raze him
When he bestrides the interlacing clouds,
And zips upon the bosom of the wind-
J: O Natural, Natural! wherefore art gas “Natural”?
Deny thy impact, and confuse thy name;
And if thou wilt not be but sworn to change,
Then I’ll no longer be an Advocate.
R: [Aside.] Shall I hear ‘sup– or shall I interrupt?
J: ‘Tis thy name that's not my enemy;
’Tis thy part thou art a Fossil Fuel.
What’s Fossil Fuel? Tis burned fuel, with footprint,
Of harm, we face, not any one part
Natural to a man. O! be some other name:
What’s in a name? that which we call Methane
Gas by any other name would smell as sweet;
So “Natural” would, were he not “Natural” call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he lies
Without that title. “Natural”, doff thy name;
And for that name, which doesn’t describe thee,
Rename thyself.
— Adam Powers
Based on research published in Journal of Environmental Psychology, on how “Different names for “natural gas” influence public perception of it.” The reason this is critical for climate is because methane is 80 times more potent heat impact in our atmosphere. So now more than ever, asking “What in a name?” is answered with the follow up “What do you care about?” The research finding:
And also of course based on the balcony scene from Act II Scene II of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet. I tried my best at maintaining the iambic pentameter until it was in the way of what I wanted to say. Enjoy!