Methane, often used for cooking and heating, is a potent greenhouse gas -- more than 20 times more effective at trapping atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide. A major source of slow methane leaks is old, abandoned landfills and town dumps.

While containing gas at these sites can be expensive, University of Illinois at Chicago researchers believe an effective and cheap way to trap it may be as easy as laying down a covering using charcoal as the key ingredient.