As does the hole in Nancy Pelosi's head
:)
Posted on 09/16/2005 12:50:34 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
GENEVA (Reuters) - The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica has grown to near record size this year, suggesting 20 years of pollution controls have so far had little effect, the United Nations said on Friday.
In a bulletin on the seasonal depletion of ozone gas, which filters harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the hole would peak within a couple of weeks.
"It will probably not break any records, but it shows that ozone depletion is going on and that the so-called ozone recovery has yet to be confirmed," Geir Braathen, WMO's top ozone expert, told a news briefing.
U.S. scientists reported last month that the ozone layer has stopped shrinking but it will take decades to start recovering.
The hole above the South Pole and Antarctica, which spans about 27 million sq km, was expected to grow another million sq km in a week, bringing it close to the record years of 2000 and 2003, the WMO said.
It had passed over Ushuaia, in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina, "leading to noticeable increases in UV (ultraviolet)" radiation, according to the bulletin, issued on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) containing chlorine and bromine, have been blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules, causing them to break apart.
Many CFCs, once commonly used in refrigeration, air conditioning and industrial cleaning, were banned by the Vienna Convention, signed exactly 20 years ago, and its Montreal Protocol clinched in 1987.
Most scientists say the hole spanned a record 29 million sq km (11 million sq miles) in September 2003, exposing the southern tip of South America.
"You could say that the ozone situation is stabilizing at a low level. We are approaching the maximum of ozone depletion, it is kind of leveling off, but it is still too early to say that the situation is improving," Braathen said.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the 189 states to have ratified the Montreal Protocol had eliminated more than 1.5 million tonnes of annual production of chemicals that destroy the ozone layer.
But developing countries were "only at the half-way point in many of their obligations" under the pact, while in wealthy countries a number of chemicals still needed to be phased out.
"It is essential that we remain alert to this hazard to avoid an increase in skin cancers, cataracts and other health threats," Annan said.
...unless the desired effect was increasing taxes, costs to consumers and government red tape. In that case, pollution controls have been a resounding success! Actually accomplishing anything useful is waaaaaay down on the list.
OMG..that is hysterical! LOL, thanks for the link.
As does the hole in Nancy Pelosi's head
:)
Bush's fault.
wow. Thanks!
LOLOL
Thanks!
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the
impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al
Gore, Vice President
lol..u guys are cracking me up!!
I had to read that 4 times to be convinced it didn't say
"Collective democratic A-hole nears record size"
must be friday or something...
W-A-L M-A-R-T......That's how I spell China.........
You rang?
once that ice completely melts, I bet there's is going to be some damn good fishing going on
She really should sue that doctor who did her facelift...........
I have been looking out the window up to the sky for the last hour and I still don't see any hole.
Damn! If only we had put Kerry in d'house! I tried to tell you guys!!! It's all over! I've said it all along! Gosh! Golly! and double damnation three times over!
Thanks!
If You Can't Dazzle Them with Brilliance, Baffle Them with BS.
Good grief!
It's the biggest hole in the ozone in... in...
well, uh, in the 6 or 8 years we've been able to measure it...
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