About this trail:
About Ozone depletion theory.
Trail link: http://www.trailfire.com/Readndigest/trails/31373
Summary: http://www.trailfire.com/Readndigest/trailview/31373
Summary: http://www.trailfire.com/Readndigest/trailview/31373
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1
Ozone depletion theory describes two distinct but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 3 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere since around 1980; and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole.
2
In 1985, the discovery of a large hole over Antarctica focused the world's attention on the devastating effects humans were having on the ozone layer. The hole also validated scientists Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Roland's long-held theory on the cause of ozone depletion. Their depletion theory was that chlorofluorocarbons, being released into the air would float all the way up to the ozone layer, a protective shield against ultraviolet light.
3
The CFC problem is largely under control, thanks to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer - an unprecedented international agreement negotiated under the auspices of UNEP. The Protocol established a new way of addressing environmental problems: the original agreement was negotiated on the basis of the ozone depletion theory - which predicts that human-made CFCs would deplete the stratospheric ozone layer.
4
Chlorine-bearing compounds which have been released into the atmosphere since 1950 are estimated as of 1975 to have an effect of 20% as great as the final effect if release of chlorofluoromethanes is continued at the 1973 rate until equilibrium is reached. The upward ozone trend during a time of active release of chlorine-bearing materials seems to contradict the ozone depletion theory. Reasons for the contradiction are discussed.
5
The national hysteria being whipped up by the media and special interest groups in response to global warming is beginning to look very much like the emotional crusade launched a decade ago to halt depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer. And just as Americans suffered most from the total ban on chemicals thought to be responsible for ozone depletion, they will ultimately end up paying the most for compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2010. The model for what Kyoto will likely become is the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
