Letter from Thomas Gold to Dr Don Rea, Mail Stop 180-901, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California Had hoped to see him in Pasadena, but did not find him in the limited time Gold was there. Asks what has happened to their plan. It seems to have been derailed, but Gold has no information as to the cause. They had depended upon proceeding in the way they had proposed; it clearly made little sense in starting from scratch devising optical detectors if they exist, and moreover if there are people with much experience and expertise in the field. States the need for such measurements has increased since their meeting. There are several circumstances now known that suggest the fault-line methane release even more strongly. One of those is the apparent discrepancy in the global methane level measured six years ago and now - there appears to be an increase from 1.4 ppm to 1.7 ppm. It is a pity to let so much time go by in this important endeavour. 8 November 1978