In 1985, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found a giant hole in the ozone layer of Earth's atmosphere over the South Pole. This discovery prompted a largely successful international effort to ban CFCs, the chemicals largely responsible for man-made thinning of the ozone layer.
Unfortunately, a new analysis from Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) suggests that stopping ozone depletion may actually increase global warming and speed up sea level rise. This discovery pits two important environmental missions against each other, while highlighting the complexity of our effect on the planet.
| "Live on pay-per-view! Global warming versus Ozone hole! See it live! SUN-D-D-D-D-D-AAAAAAY!" |
Now, as the hole in the atmosphere heals, those wind patterns will shift, fully subjecting the Antarctic ice to the effects climate change. According to SCAR, that means a rise in sea levels up to 4.6 feet greater than earlier predictions.
| "Quick, Joop, extend the dike!" "Hendrik, I can do nothing until you put some chewing gum in this hole so I can remove my finger." |
| No, what the reporter is saying is that they actually are related. And, he is claiming the relationship is dangerous to children and other living things. |
The campaign to eliminate ozone depleting chemicals, starting with the 1978 ban enacted by the US, Canada, and Norway, and the subsequent 1989 Montreal Protocol banning ozone-depleting chemicals internationally, were some of the biggest triumphs of the environmental movement in the last century. Today, both acts serve as inspirations and templates for subsequent treaties and legislation that attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The SCAR report's revelation that fixing one pressing environmental problem may accelerate another dangerous problem puts efforts to prevent rapid environmental change in a bit of a pickle. As the leaders of the world's nations prepare to hash out future environmental agreements, revelations like this can't help make me wonder how today's solutions might become tomorrow's concerns.
Insert obligatory "The sky is falling!! We're all gonna die!!!" here....
Reprinted from The Guardian.
| An interesting way for The Guardian and Popular Science magazine to walk back from their AGW frenzy without referencing Climategate. I think they should be encouraged in their new found caution on environmental issues, every time they bring up a similar idea. |