I think about the hole in the ozone layer sometimes and it freaks me out. Does anyone have any words of encouragement on this matter? I'll see if I can find some too.
-Sab
Did we sign our cosmic death certificates when we put a hole in the ozone layer?
by sabastious 14 Replies latest jw friends
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leavingwt
Heart disease will kill you long before you need to worry about it.
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sabastious
Heart disease will kill you long before you need to worry about it.
But what if I want to be like Bruce Willis in Armageddon and sacrifice my life for the preservation of the Earth?
-Sab
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sabastious
Something I found:
An HONEST look at whether or not we can do anything to protect the ozone layer requires us to honestly view what is causing the "hole", or if a hole is even forming.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_we_do_to_protect_the_ozone_layer#ixzz1FNdORCPo
The ozone "hole" is a thinning of a layer found only near the poles, particularly the south pole and only when the sun is not hitting the area.
This is because of the earth's tilt. The ONLY times this thinning occurs is when the sun is not present. The equator shows virtually zero thinning.
Solar flares seem to be the largest determining factor of how large these "holes" get during their brief life. The largest disruption we have been able to determine has ever happened to the ozone layer was in 1859 due to sun flares. Active winds pushing Nitrogen into the ozone layer seem to have a large effect on this area also.
See the related questions section below.-Sab
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unshackled
Whatever happened to all the ozone layer hubbub? Think it was the late 80s when that all broke, and even using aerosol sprays was frowned on. Anyone else remember that?
The problem, of course, hasn't gone away. Apparently Australia has it worst. Just curious why it isn't so front and center anymore.
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sabastious
The problem, of course, hasn't gone away. Apparently Australia has it worst. Just curious why it isn't so front and center anymore.
I bet culture has inadvertently coupled it with global warming.
-Sab
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beksbks
Ozone depletion
Main article: Ozone depletion
NASA projections of stratospheric ozone concentrations if chlorofluorocarbons had not been banned. The ozone layer can be depleted by free radical catalysts, including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), hydroxyl (OH), atomic chlorine (Cl), and atomic bromine (Br). While there are natural sources for all of these species, the concentrations of chlorine and bromine have increased markedly in recent years due to the release of large quantities of man-made organohalogen compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromofluorocarbons. [ 3 ] These highly stable compounds are capable of surviving the rise to the stratosphere, where Cl and Br radicals are liberated by the action of ultraviolet light. Each radical is then free to initiate and catalyze a chain reaction capable of breaking down over 100,000 ozone molecules. The breakdown of ozone in the stratosphere results in the ozone molecules being unable to absorb ultraviolet radiation. Consequently, unabsorbed and dangerous ultraviolet-B radiation is able to reach the Earth’s surface. [citation needed] Ozone levels, over the northern hemisphere, have been dropping by 4% per decade. Over approximately 5% of the Earth's surface, around the north and south poles, much larger (but seasonal) declines have been seen; these are the ozone holes.
In 2009, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) was the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities. [ 4 ]
[edit] Regulation
In 1978, the United States, Canada and Norway enacted bans on CFC-containing aerosol sprays that are thought to damage the ozone layer. The European Community rejected an analogous proposal to do the same. In the U.S., chlorofluorocarbons continued to be used in other applications, such as refrigeration and industrial cleaning, until after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985. After negotiation of an international treaty (the Montreal Protocol), CFC production was sharply limited beginning in 1987 and phased out completely by 1996. [citation needed]
On August 2, 2003, scientists announced that the depletion of the ozone layer may be slowing down due to the international ban on CFCs. [ 5 ] Three satellites and three ground stations confirmed that the upper atmosphere ozone depletion rate has slowed down significantly during the past decade. The study was organized by the American Geophysical Union. Some breakdown can be expected to continue due to CFCs used by nations which have not banned them, and due to gases which are already in the stratosphere. CFCs have very long atmospheric lifetimes, ranging from 50 to over 100 years, so the final recovery of the ozone layer is expected to require several lifetimes.
Compounds containing C–H bonds (such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs) have been designed to replace the function of CFCs. These replacement compounds are more reactive and less likely to survive long enough in the atmosphere to reach the stratosphere where they could affect the ozone layer. While being less damaging than CFCs, HCFCs can have a negative impact on the ozone layer, so they are also being phased out. [ 6 ]
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sabastious
Sac, I feel an Austin Powers clip is highly inappropriate in a thread about the possible extinction of the human race! Plus he stole my middle name and I just can't forgive him for that.
-Sab
