Posted on 10/02/2004 8:57:20 PM PDT by anymouse
A gaping hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica appears to have shrunk by about 20 percent from last year's record-breaking size, New Zealand scientists said on Friday.
The National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said its measurements backed up NASA satellite data showing the hole peaked at about 9 million sq miles compared with 11 million sq miles in 2003.
The ozone layer sits about 9-19 miles above the earth, filtering harmful ultraviolet rays that can cause skin cancer.
Industrial chemicals containing chlorine and bromine used in refrigerators and aerosols have been blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules, causing them to break apart.
NIWA scientist Stephen Wood cautioned against reading too much into the hole's smaller size, which he said was also influenced by natural variations.
"We need to see smaller or less severe ozone holes over a number of years before we can say for certain that ozone is recovering," he said in a statement.
The only inhabited area that might possibly be affected by the hole would be the southern tip of South America, he said.
Under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, more than 180 signatory states have committed to phasing out the use of nearly 100 ozone-damaging substances.
In 2002, the ozone hole suddenly shrank, raising hopes it had turned the corner and was starting to close but some scientists later put it down to an abnormality caused by atmospheric conditions.
This isn't good news for the environmental wackos. That hole was a big part of their arguement about why we should go back to living like cavemen
I doubt if this Reuters story will be played up big in the rest of the MSM.
You are correct. The last time the hole narrowed (near the end of 2002), it was barely mentioned in the media. When it widen again, the media sounded the alarm saying that the hole was growing (failing to note that it previously narrowed).
Oddly, I noted nothing about "global warming" in the article. The next time the hole widens, it will be mentioned like the last time.
bttt
"Industrial chemicals containing chlorine and bromine used in refrigerators and aerosols have been blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules, causing them to break apart. "
If this is the case , why aren't the holes in the ozone layer over the industrial centers of the world and not the most cold and desolate place on the planet?
It's all Bush's fault!!!...oh...er... never mind....
This can all be explained by the new Flip-Flop Global Warming theory. The ozone hole actually gets smaller before it gets bigger and the earth actually gets cooler before it gets warmer. At least that's how Kerry would explain it.
That's always been a good question.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds were the first to be blamed, supposedly broken down by UV rays into chlorine that destroys ozone... never mind that chlorofluorocarbons are extremely heavy molecules which makes one wonder how they ever got into the upper atmosphere to begin with.
CFC's were handy to blame because they were heavily used in industrialized nations as refrigerants and solvents. A much larger source of free chlorine is that from potable water systems common to most municipal public water systems and treated water in swimming pools. The chlorine rapidly dissipates into the atmosphere, but no one ever blames that source.
5.56mm
Read..."The Holes in the Ozone Scare: The Scientific Evidence That the Sky Isn't Falling" by Rogelio A. Maduro, Ralf Schauerhammer.
Excellent science to counter the pseudo-science of the insane greenies.
THIS my friends is NOT good news. Seriously. In college I did a research peice on this, and the "global warming" con about a hole is just that, a CON... It always has been.
When UV light (radiation) strikes O2 (ogygen) it breaks it apart into O1 (oxygen negative ion), that O1 looks to bond with a neutral or positive, compatible element, generally O2. In turn, it then forms O3 (ozone)...
The Ozone layer is self-regulating based on the amount of UV that strikes it. The more UV, the thicker the ozone blanket. The less UV, the thinner. Nevertheless, it works fine...
Several years ago, the "global warming" scientists decided that they would call the NORMAL thinning in the polar regions faced AWAY FROM THE SUN, a "hole." There is no "hole" just thinning because there is far less UV to trigger the normal ozone regulation and production reaction. Less UV, less ozone.
In a nutshell, what I discovered is that this whole thing is a CON! And I mean one HELL of a con!!
"Thinning" or no ozone up in the stratosphere spells doom and gloom, but ozone down where we believe is "pollution" and needs to have strict EPA regulation. Yet while they want to take your car and SUV, the EPA has approved ozone generating air purifiers. How lovely...
And finally, the Chloroflorocarbons (CFC's) that are going to destroy the earth!!! You know, refrigerants. Refrigerants, which are supposed to be what's "destroying" the ozone layer has a MOLECULAR WEIGHT SEVERAL TIMES THAT OF AIR! In fact, CFC's are so heavy, if you're in an airtight room with an open top, and CFC's are poured in, you'd SUFFOCATE! The weight ratio is roughly that of iron and water. Other than Elija in the Bible, I haven't seen any iron "swimming" or floating in the water lately, have you?
EVERYTHING I've noted is easily verifiable. None of it is hidden, just take the time to study it for yourself. You'll be shocked when you discover just how much of a FRAUD this whole entire global warming / ozone fiasco is.
The source of the ozone scare was Dupont, they were loosing their patent on freon and had a new substitute. The problem was the substitute was not as efficient as freon, so they used underhanded tactics to force the world to use their new "safer" alternative.
The rest is history.
I cleaned the air filter on my SUV.
Pardon me, but damn... that's what I love about this forum... there are people here with more than a discernable IQ that refuse to drink the koolaid.
I appreciate whenever anyone on this forum starts threads involving the environment and the "global warming" farce. I believe that these issues need to be addressed more frequently and agressively to expose the truths and destructive hidden agendas behind them.
Considering that many more people read these forums than actually participate means that FreeRepublic and similar forums serve well to get the word out. We need to realize that the "global warming" issue is nothing more than a tool that is being used against the West by liberal/green/socialist agendas in an attempt to cripple and punish us. It is terrorism on a different scale, but no less threatening to our country's welfare. This "tool" must be dismantled.
Good point. Here are some more:
The ozone "hole" refers to a region where the concentration of ozone is ~7 ppm, instead of the more normal 12 ppm.
Ozone is caused by ionizing radiation braking up oxygen molecules, some of which reform to ozone.
The half life of ozone in the gas phase (and subject to tremp, but the air temp in the ovone layer is ~60 - 70 degree F)Is around 20 hours. That means that from dusk the night before to dawn the following morning, the ozone concentration anywhere on the planet has decreased ~25%. You never notice this because as soon as the sun's rays hit the atmosphere, it is regenerated, immediately. The ozone layer is constantly being destroyed and reformed. If you could turn the sun off, in 72 hours you wouldn't have any ozone layer at all. If you then turned the sun back on, in 24 hours you could not find any reduction in the conc. of normal ozone layer.
Ozone is a fragile molecule with a relatively high heat of formation (34.4 Kcal/mol) and is very reactive. The claim that it reacts with R-12 (CFCs) to it's detriment is BS. If nothing else is around, ozone reacts with itself, and it also reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide.
The hole in the ozone layer over the poles (notice this was measured in Summer 2004) exists because of "the Critical Angle of Incidence" (CAI) in the system air/vacuum of space, because the sun's rays bounce off above a certain angle of incidence because the Earth is shperical. Ditto for the Arctic region, and these charlatans know it. Remember ion the 1992 Pres. election the flap about "the ozone hole over Kennebunkport"? When was this measured? A: December 22. What is Dec. 22? It is the time when the northern hemispere points furthest away from the sun, meaning the CAI is at its southern most point at that time.
One final rant: the normal concentration of ozone in the layer is ~12 ppm, the concentration of oxygen in the layer is 209,000 ppm. Which do you think plays a greater role in absorbing shortwave UV? (absorption max for O2 is 185 nm, for O3 is 257.6 nm)?
< /rant>
You hit the nail on the head. Total bunk. The ozone layer has been and will be self correcting.
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