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Thanks To the Montreal Protocol, We Avoided Severe Ozone Depletion

hypnosec writes: Scientists say the ozone layer is in good shape thanks to the Montreal Protocol, which has helped us avoid severe ozone depletion. Research suggests that the Antarctic ozone hole would have been 40% bigger by now if not for the international treaty. "Our research confirms the importance of the Montreal Protocol and shows that we have already had real benefits. We knew that it would save us from large ozone loss 'in the future', but in fact we are already past the point when things would have become noticeably worse," lead author Professor Martyn Chipperfield, from the School of Earth & Environment at the University of Leeds, said in a press release.

9 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. suckers by caviare · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obviously the CFC industry wasn't as big and powerful as the fossil fuels industries, didn't spend enough money obfuscating the issues, perverting public opinion by telling them want they wanted to hear and getting Rupert to agree with their point of view.

    1. Re:suckers by Rujiel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "I'm not in love with the fossil fuel industry, but.."

      One of many things to say before/after defending the fossil fuel industry.

    2. Re:suckers by dave420 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's the science-denialist "I'm not racist, but...". If one has a rational opinion on the topic such a disclaimer is not required.

  2. Re:Ozone layer is recovering by BoogieChile · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It indicates that when all the science tells you there is a problem, it would be a good idea to do something about it before it's too late?

  3. Susan Solomon—read about her by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Susan Solomon at MIT was a particularly important person in the development of the Montreal protocol. I recommend reading about her and her work. Surface catalysis in clouds is interesting. Why didn't the ozone hole form over the arctic, not just the antarctic? Read her work to find out. It has to do with formation of certain clouds at particular altitude only found in the antarctic, and re-formation of the catalytic chain carrier due to a particular reaction that is promoted on those crystals.

    Thank god we had the intelligence to fix our own mistake. On second thought, don't thank god—thank science.

  4. Re:Montreal Protocol? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Skip the middlemen and ask the Koch brothers.

  5. Re:chumps taken for a ride by DamnOregonian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    DuPont made a pile off the new alternatives.

    Yes, there's lots of money to be made in fixing our fuckups, even by the people who supplies the tools to create said fuckups. Why is this relevant?

    The "recovery" started happening even before change of CFCs implemented

    Utterly not true... Unless of course you limit the data set to between about 86 and 88, and exclude before and after. Smells like denialist arguing ;)

    clearly the size of the "hole" just solar cycle driven

    Now this is just stupid. The high part of the solar cycle creates *more* Ozone, and we've undergone 4 full cycles since the CFC problem was hypothesized and identified, and the stratospheric ozone measurements aren't even nudged by the cycle... Maybe due to how utterly small the variation in the cycle is (.07% of mean peak to trough)

    What a bunch of sheeple....

    What do you even say to a fucking idiot who talks out of his ass like that?
    How would you tell your child they're wrong if they told you today that it's safe to be shot by a gun, and that most people die of a heart attack out of fright from the sound of the gun firing?

  6. Re:nonsense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The company's name is "duPont". I'm assuming you're stupid since "duPort" doesn't form any form of sarcastic parody.

    "Freon" is not the subject of a patent, it is a trademark, which will remain in force as long as duPont defends it.

    "Freon" is not a single chemical, it is a label duPont applies to numerous halocarbon compounds.

    Most of these compounds were discovered well before 1950, meaning any possible patents on the molecules or their synthesis expired well before 1980, let alone the passage of the Montreal Protocol.

    Denser bulk gasses will remain in the bottom of a container, however once mixed the entropy of mixing means that the process is not spontaneously reversible: there are unimaginably more states where freon molecules and air molecules are fully mixed than states where they are fully or even partly separated. Even by waiting, it is simple to see the tendency of the boundary to smear due to molecular diffusion processes, which are also irreversible.

    You managed to get every single "factual" statement wrong. Stop posting, stop reading right wing propaganda, take a class on critical thinking, and start reading science books. But really, the most important thing is to stop posting, some innocent passerby might not know to instantly dismiss your shitpost.

  7. Re:nonsense by hey! · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anything that happens inflates someone's bank account. If governments ban CFCs then people with CFC substitutes get a windfall. If governments don't ban CFCs then makers of sunscreen and skin cancer treatments get a windfall.

    This is how capitalism works -- how it's supposed to work. Problems attract capital, which generates profits. But it's also how market solutions fall short. It's better for the public if someone makes a killing replacing CFC than if someone else makes a killing treating skin cancer.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.