Tiny bubbles of ancient air trapped in ice cores from Greenland suggest we’ve been seriously overestimating the natural cycle of methane, while vastly undervaluing our own terrible impact.

Methane is an ‘invisible climate menace’ – roughly 30 times more potent as a heat-trapper than carbon dioxide – and while some of this atmospheric gas is produced naturally, new research indicates humans are responsible for far more of it than we thought until now.

Before the industrial revolution, when humans began to extract and burn fossil fuels on the regular, natural methane emissions were an order of magnitude smaller than current estimates, the study suggests.

Today, this means our own methane emissions might be up to 40 percent higher than suspected.

“Our results imply that anthropogenic methane emissions now account for about 30 percent of the global methane source and for nearly half of [all] anthropogenic emissions… ” the authors write.

Over the past three centuries, methane emissions have shot up by roughly 150 percent, but because this atmospheric gas is also produced naturally, it’s been difficult to tell exactly where the emissions are coming from.

To figure out the scope of our own impact from coal, oil and natural gas, it’s therefore necessary to know how much methane comes from wetlands and other natural sinks.

“As a scientific community we’ve been struggling to understand exactly how much methane we as humans are emitting into the atmosphere,” says Vasilii Petrenko, a geochemist from the University of Rochester.

“We know that the fossil fuel component is one of our biggest component emissions, but it has been challenging to pin that down because in today’s atmosphere, the natural and anthropogenic components of the fossil emissions look the same, isotopically.”

There is one rare radioactive isotope however, known as carbon-14, which is contained in biological methane and not in fossil fuel methane.

By drilling and collecting ice cores in Greenland, Petrenko and his colleagues were able to use this isotope as a sort of time capsule for past atmospheres, ranging from roughly 1750 to 2013.

Until about 1870, the findings suggest very low levels of methane were emitted into the atmosphere and almost all of it was biological in nature. Only after this date was there a sharp increase in methane, coinciding with an increase in fossil fuel use.

In practice this means that each year, the scientific community has been underestimating methane emissions from humans by as little as 25 percent and as high as 40 percent. And while that might sound entirely grim, the authors see a silver lining on the edge of this dark cloud.

“I don’t want to get too hopeless on this because my data does have a positive implication: most of the methane emissions are anthropogenic, so we have more control,” says University of Rochester geochemist Benjamin Hmiel.

“If we can reduce our emissions, it’s going to have more of an impact.”

Compared to carbon dioxide, methane is short-lived in the atmosphere, so stricter regulations could have a sizeable impact on future greenhouse gas emissions.

And, at least in the United States, there’s plenty of room for improvement in that respect. A study in 2018, for example, found methane emissions from oil and natural gas were 60 percent higher than those reported by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

This missing chunk could be part of the reason why we are currently underestimating methane emissions so much. It seems that what we are reporting on the ground is not matching up with what’s going on in the sky.

The study was published in Nature.

Delta Airlines had the most on-time arrivals in the last months of 2019 compared to other U.S. major airlines, according to a Wednesday report.

U.S. airlines with the highest rates of on-time arrivals between December and January of 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation include:

• Delta (84 percent)
• Alaska (81.3 percent)
• Southwest (80.2 percent)
• Spirit (79.5 percent)
• Allegiant (78.7 percent)
• American (77.4 percent)
• United (75.2 percent)
• JetBlue (73.5 percent)
• Frontier (73.1 percent)

While Spirit ranked fourth among major airlines for on-time flights, Consumer Reports ranked the newcomer airline known for its ultra-low-cost flights the “worst airline in America” in a 2018 report based on flights that took place between 2016 and 2017. The airline received a score of 62 points out of 100, followed by Frontier, which received a total of 63 points.

Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue, by comparison, all ranked within the top three best airlines in the U.S., according to the Consumer Reports study.

Delta is the second-biggest airline in the world and in the U.S., falling just behind American Airlines. United, Southwest and Alaska also made the top-20 list of the world’s largest airlines, Business Insider reported in March, citing research from air-travel data firm OAG.

Hawaiian Airlines Network had the best overall on-time performance at 87.6 percent, but the smaller airline and its partners fly out of 22 airports compared to the 223 airports where passengers can catch flights with Delta and its partners.

The Mediterranean diet, a popular eating protocol often recommended by health authorities, is the subject of a new study that evaluated its effects on cognition and aging. The results were promising — it turns out that eating this particular diet leads to important gut bacteria changes, reducing one’s risk of developing many health problems. The findings are particularly good news for the elderly.

The Mediterranean diet has been the subject of many studies over the years; it is known as a heart-healthy diet, but the benefits may extend beyond reducing one’s risk of developing heart disease. According to a new study recently published in Gut, the changes to gut bacteria that result from this diet may promote healthy aging and reduce the risk of various diseases like cancer and diabetes.

The study involved data on the gut microbiome of 612 elderly people from various European nations. Around half of these people were put on a Mediterranean diet for one year, whereas the remaining participants ate their usual diets for the same year. After the 12 months were over, the study found that participants who ate the Mediterranean diet had more bacterial diversity in their gut compared to the other participants.

As well, the diet reduced the production of inflammatory markers that may cause harm, including interleukin-17. At the same time, these dieters were found to have experienced the growth of gut bacteria associated with brain function and memory. The benefits continued from there, with the team also finding that some gut microbiome changes were linked to slowed frailty, potentially helping elderly people maintain their independence for longer periods of time.

The findings join a large body of research highlighting the Mediterranean diet’s many potential health benefits, which include everything from healthier BMIs to stronger bones, lowered cholesterol, decreased risk of diabetes, improvements to depression, and more. The American Heart Association maintains a site dedicated to the diet, including recipes and facts.

We imagine new Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton hasn’t gotten much sleep since he assumed the top spot at the struggling home furnishings retailer about 100 days ago.

“I am actually sleeping, and I am prioritizing that to make sure I am fresh and focused. It’s really important to build your resilience in these times, especially when I am drinking from a firehose and laying the foundation and making some big critical decisions about how we stabilize and grow our business,” Tritton told Yahoo Finance Tuesday evening in one of his first interviews since taking over. “I am staying resilient and focused, and using every tool in my toolkit.”

Certainly one can’t blame Tritton if sleep is the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Tritton has been non-stop at Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) pretty much since walking in the door after a successful stint in the C-suite at discounter Target. Tritton is credited by many on Wall Street as helping to craft Target’s successful turnaround plan, working hand in glove with current chairman CEO Brian Cornell.

Tritton’s first big move at Bed Bath & Beyond was to part ways with six long-time executives in one press release. It’s the type of house cleaning this former retail stock analyst has never seen before, but reflective of the years of poor execution in stores and online at Bed Bath & Beyond (and plunging stock price).

“When I came in there was very congealed thinking, there was no agility and no action. There were some real burning platforms that needed to be addressed,” Tritton explained, referring to the headline-grabbing leadership shakeup.

While deciding on who to keep in the C-suite, Tritton was also evaluating the company’s portfolio of assets with an eye on divesting non-core operations to raise cash to support a turnaround. For years, Wall Street has wondered why Bed Bath & Beyond operated a highly seasonal business such as Christmas Tree Shops. A portfolio evaluation is a hard gig for any retailer, but especially one like Bed Bath & Beyond that lists only two executives on the investor relations page — Tritton and CFO Robyn D’Elia.

Tritton told Yahoo Finance he has been relying on consultants Bed Bath & Beyond hired before his arrival to assess the business and some strong employees that had been at the company. Goldman Sachs has been tapped to shop non-strategic assets, Tritton said.

Tritton said he is nearing the end of his executive search and plans to make announcements in the coming weeks.

The lack of an executive team hasn’t stopped Tritton from starting to take some shareholder-friendly action.

A few strategic moves

Tritton orchestrated a sale leaseback transaction on January 6 with Oak Street Real Estate Capital for 2.1 million square feet of commercial real estate. The deal netted Bed Bath & Beyond $250 million.

And then today, Tritton returned with some more positive news. Bed Bath & Beyond said earlier it sold PersonalizationMall.com to 1-800 Flowers for a cool $250 million. Considering most on Wall Street had never even heard of this asset, the $250 million was a nice win.

After the market close, Tritton revealed a $1 billion capital return program. For 2020, Bed Bath & Beyond expects $600 million in total spending on share repurchases, dividends and debt reduction. Another $350 million to $400 million will be set aside for capital expenditures, or investments in technology projects and supply chain improvements.

That’s not to say Tritton has been the bearer of bad news early in his tenure. Wall Street has given Tritton a pass by and large as subpar sales reflect the lack of action by now ousted executives. But it has still been tough on the eyes.

On January 8, Bed Bath & Beyond revealed a challenging third quarter.

Come February 11, Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock plunged 25% on the disclosure that the holiday shopping season was far worse than feared. The period marked the ninth straight quarter of same-store sales declines. Wall Street fretted a turnaround under Tritton would take longer than expected.

“Shares could remain range-bound over the next few months as investors balance announcements of strategic actions with a continued deterioration in fundamentals and limited visibility,” wrote Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewski in a note to clients. He rates the stock a Hold with an $11 price target.

All in all, a heck of a four-month stretch for Tritton.

“We are hungry for change,” Tritton said. Bed Bath & Beyond shareholders would echo that.

Nike, with a new CEO at the helm, announced leadership changes Tuesday that include a new chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Andy Campion, the current executive vice president and CFO, will replace Eric Sprunk as COO, effective April 1, the company said in a statement, adding that Sprunk will depart Nike.

The company said Matthew Friend, its current CFO of operating segments and vice president of investor relations, will become its new CFO.

Nike stock rose less than 1% after hours on the news. Nike has a market value of nearly $159 billion, and its stock has gained more than 19% over the past year.

In October, Nike announced John Donahoe, a Nike board member and former CEO of eBay, would replace its longtime CEO Mark Parker, effective Jan. 13. Parker, who was named executive chairman, said at the time of the announcement that he would be “partnering closely with John and the management team.”

As part of the announcements Tuesday, Heidi O’Neill, president of Nike Direct, will become president of consumer and marketplace on April 1. She succeeds Elliott Hill, who will leave Nike, the company said. Nike did not say when Hill and Sprunk will depart the company.

“Heidi and Andy’s leadership has been instrumental in both evolving and driving Nike’s strategy over the last decade,” John Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike said, in a press release. “In their new roles, we will see them have even greater impact on Nike’s success in the future. Matthew brings more than 10 years of Nike experience to the CFO role and will be a great addition to our executive leadership team.”

The leadership changes come as Nike faces mounting scrutiny over allegations of doping as well as gender discrimination. In October, Parker said an interview with CNBC’s Wilfred Frost that Donahoe should “enable this next level of growth,” digitally, for the company.

He also said the decision was not prompted by doping allegations connected to Nike’s Oregon Project, the elite training group run by Nike’s head running coach Alberto Salazar.

At the end of September, Salazar was banned amid doping allegations, which reportedly included ties back to Parker himself. The New York Times reviewed emails from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that showed Parker had been briefed on Salazar’s various experiments to use testosterone cream for track-and-field athletes.

In an email to employees at the time, Parker said: “Nike did not participate in any effort to systematically dope any runners ever; the very idea makes me sick.” He also said Nike looked into the allegations against Salazar and found no violations.

In 2018, Nike President Trevor Edwards, who many saw as Parker’s likely successor, retired after complaints surfaced at the company in March 2018, when a group of women presented Parker with a survey on gender discrimination. Edwards was blamed in the lawsuit for creating and exacerbating a “hostile work environment.” Parker responded by restructuring his leadership team, which included ousting Edwards.

Nike in 2018 admitted it failed in hiring and promoting women, and the company ousted at least 11 executives and announced raises for 7,000 employees after conducting an internal review of its pay practices. Parker apologized to employees at large in May.

SpaceX is planning to send up to four private citizens into space to take a trip around Earth sometime at the end of 2021 or in early 2022. The spaceflight company announced an agreement on Tuesday with Space Adventures, a space tourism business that has helped seven different private citizens take trips to (and from) the International Space Station aboard Russia’s Soyuz rocket and spacecraft.

Space Adventures said the price of the mission will not be disclosed, and the two companies were light on other details, like what kind of preparation the tourists will have to go through. The companies did say Tuesday that the tourists will fly in the human-rated version of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and that they will orbit Earth at two to three times the roughly 250-mile height of the ISS.

SpaceX has spent the last few years building and testing out this new version of Dragon as part of a contract with NASA to shuttle astronauts to and from the ISS, after years of using the spacecraft to shuttle cargo to the space station. The private spaceflight company recently completed the second major flight test of the Crew Dragon, as it’s called, which demonstrated the capsule’s ability to escape an exploding rocket.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has teased the idea of space tourism as a business for a few years now, though he’s been overly optimistic about how soon that could happen. The company announced in early 2017 that it had accepted undisclosed payments from two customers for a trip around the Moon using Crew Dragon and the Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX said at the time that the trip would happen by the end of 2018. But in September 2018, the company announced that it now intends to send one of those passengers — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa — around the Moon using the company’s massive, yet-to-be-built Big Falcon Rocket. (It’s still unclear what happened to the second customer.)

SpaceX has similarly had to delay the first Crew Dragon flight with NASA astronauts as it worked through the process of certifying the spacecraft with NASA. That flight is now supposed to take place later this year.

Other private spaceflight companies are vying to establish the space tourism market. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are in the running, though both of those companies are promising far briefer experiences. Virgin Galactic says it plans to send its first space tourists up later this year where they will experience a few minutes of weightlessness in the company’s plane-like spaceship. Blue Origin is promising customers a similar amount of time in space, though in a spacecraft that’s more similar to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. (Both of those tickets cost in the neighborhood of $200,000 a pop.)

While little is known about the newly-announced flight, SpaceX has detailed the inside of the Crew Dragon spacecraft that will ferry the tourists around the Earth. The capsule’s interior is a minimalist affair, with just a few suspended seats and an array of touchscreens. The spacecraft is ringed with windows, though they’re not as large as the ones Blue Origin built into its own capsule. SpaceX has also shown off sleek, custom-designed spacesuits and helmets that Crew Dragon passengers will wear. The suits are less bulky-looking than past designs, but are still pressurized, cooled, and flame resistant. They come with touchscreen compatible gloves, and will lock into the seats for the ride up to space.