Laughing Gas Is Major Threat To Ozone Layer

Hugh Pickens writes "The Christian Science Monitor reports that according to new research, nitrous oxide, the colorless, sweet-smelling gas with a long history as a medical and dental anesthetic is the next big threat to Earth's protective ozone layer. Its role in destroying ozone has long been recognized, as well as its role as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas but the new study puts nitrous oxide's ability to deplete ozone into numbers comparable to those used for other ozone-depleting gases covered by the 1987 Montreal Protocol. The researchers note that the health of the ozone layer has been improving since the adoption of the protocol and that nitrous oxide looms large today as an artificial destroyer of the ozone layer, in part because the emissions of other harmful chemicals have been so sharply reduced." (Continues.) "Globally, Earth's ozone layer has thinned by 5 to 6 percent since 1980, before CFCs and their ilk came into wide use, according to Akkihebbal Ravishankara, who led the study. He and his colleagues note that 6 percent may appear to be a small number, but it still can lead to significant effects on organisms at Earth's surface. The researchers did not make any policy recommendations in light of their finding. 'It is not for us to gauge how much risk there is,' says Ravishankara. In any event, Ravishankara says, at the moment researchers could not say with confidence 'how much nitrous oxide comes from where.'"

Comments

Research dilemma

[girlintraining]

...at the moment researchers could not say with confidence 'how much nitrous oxide comes from where.'

That would probably be because it isn't regulated. It's actually legal to own despite its recreational properties. As an oxidizer it has many industrial uses. And like all oxidizers, yes, when it gets into the upper atmosphere Bad Things Happen(tm). We may need better methods of containing it (it is a gas at room temperature, of course) when used in an industrial setting, but that's about the extent of what we can do to contain the problem -- it's a very basic chemical with a wide range of applications, many of which aren't amiable to being changed to using another agent.

Mislead much?

[Perp Atuitie]

Hate to break into the hilarity fest, but the post makes a propaganda point and a lame joke by leaving out the core of the report:

Nitrous oxide has a range of natural and human-made sources. The largest man-made source is agriculture, where the gas gets emitted after bacteria in soil break down the nitrogen in chemical fertilizers as well as in manure-based fertilizers. Nitrous oxide also comes from burning fossil fuels and from burning biomass.

Nobody's talking about laughing gas, the anesthetic and geek enhancer. They're talking about artificial and natural shit -- let the new round of hilarity begin.

Re:NOx is not N2O

[Anonymous Coward]

NOx == nitric oxide - this stuff, when hit with sunlight, causes smog - or low level ozone.

N2O == Nitrous oxide - the stuff we are talking about

Re:and natural CO2 production is 20x mans

[khayman80]

Thanks. As you say, the climate changes naturally. The graph immediately below the one you're talking about shows temperature reconstructions over the last 1000 years that support what you're saying. These natural climate changes establish a range of natural variability, and current measurements show that the climate is now changing much faster than can be attributed to natural causes.

Re:Ozone depletion...

[Anarchduke]

Are you a complete fucktard? Chlorofluorocarbons were most certainly damaging the Earth's ozone layer, and banning those same CFC's is certainly benefiting the ozone layer. All the scientists are saying is that Nitrous Oxide is currently the most damaging pollutant to the ozone layer.

I mean really, there was never any real doubt about the impact on the ozone layer by CFC's, and the scientists are saying that some of the damage to that layer is repairing itself. You can doubt what the end result of a damaged ozone layer would be, but the fact that ozone levels began to rapidly deplete isn't in doubt. Neither is the fact that the ozone layer insulates the surface of the planet from UV-B radiation.

Sorry, but the scientists weren't making it up, and the fact that you are so filled with ass-hat ignorance as to be certain of some bullshit conspiracy among scientists should help to convince anyone on the fence about global warning that people like you are just idiots without a freaking clue.