Will Man Ever Understand This Planet?

[Weedy1]

This is an article in the news today. I find this quite amusing as I work in the heating/refrigeration industry. Since it was discovered (or assumed incorrectly, I don't know which term to use) that the depletion of the ozone layer was mans doing we have spent billions if not trillions of dollars replacing CFC's in various refrigeration systems across the world. In Alberta the cost to retrofit a typical refrigeration system for a large commercial building is in excess of $100,000. Most large commercial building buildings have a least two systems. Was it all necessary?

 

Does this sound a little familiar? Global what?

 

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From : http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/07...-antarctic.html

 

British researchers have found large quantities of natural ozone-depleting chemicals in Antarctica.

Chemists from the University of Leeds, the University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey reported finding high concentrations of halogens, such as bromine and iodine oxides.

"The springtime peak of iodine oxide [20 parts per trillion] is the highest concentration recorded anywhere in the atmosphere," said an abstract of their study, published in the journal Science on Thursday.

The bromine came from sea salt and the iodine from "almost certainly bright orange algae that coat the underside of the sea ice around the continent," they said in a release.

Halogens deplete the ozone above the ice surface, which reduce the capacity of the atmosphere to remove certain chemical compounds.

"We still have to work out what the ramifications of this discovery are," said John Plane, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Leeds.

The chemists did an 18-month study of the lowest part of the atmosphere on the Brunt Ice Shelf, about 20 kilometres from the Weddell Sea.

The scientists projected a beam of light across the shelf, and analyzed the levels of chemicals in the reflected light. Moreover, satellite observations by team member Alfonso Saiz-Lopez "have confirmed that iodine oxides are widespread throughout coastal Antarctica."

The scientists are planning additional studies to assess the impact on the local environment.

The finding may raise questions about the belief that chemicals made by humans are behind the disappearance of ozone over the continent.

The ozone layer is the part of the atmosphere 25 kilometres up that acts as a shield protecting life on Earth from damaging UV rays, which can cause sunburns, skin cancer and cataracts. The rays can also harm marine life.

The layer has decreased globally by about 0.3 per cent per year. The loss is seen as a hole over the South Pole because of atmospheric and wind conditions during the southern winter.

The hole grows during the winter, peaking in the southern spring, and is seen until the summer in November or December.

It is a common belief that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) produced by humans are breaking down the ozone layer. For example, the UN Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat said in 2006 the depletion of the ozone over Antarctica "cannot be explained by natural cycles but is caused by the impact of synthetic chemicals in the stratosphere."

CFCs were banned under the Montreal Protocol in 1987. In August 2006, the UN group said the ozone layer could return to pre-1980 levels by 2049 over much of the world, but it would take until 2065 to restore the shield over Antarctica.

[Taco]

Same sh it different day Weedy, Same sh it different day........... In all honesty I've gotten so sick of " The Sky is Falling" and "End of The Known World" scenarios that I'm down to doing what's good for my local environment and my bottom line and f*** the rest. <_<

 

 

PS This AutoCensoring Software Program is f***ingbullshitboys whadda think we are?? effin' merkins???

 

Edited by Taco to clarify a point

[Weedy1]

Same here Taco, life is only so long with very limited days for fishing.

[Weedy1]

PS your editing is bullshitboys whadda think we are?? effin' merkins???

 

 

Huh? Care to expand on that?

[Taco]

Huh? Care to expand on that?

 

Post edited, the PS comment was aimed @ the Admin

[SanJuanWorm]

I don't edit swearin. F-bombs could be left out though. Im a rig pig so i swear more than anyone here.

[Taco]

so how come sh it becomes shite when you don't use the space bar half way through?? I kinda dislike Big Brother software

[maxwell]

Same here Taco, life is only so long with very limited days for fishing.

 

amen brother

[Weedy1]

Censoring programs just contribute to making language worse on the net as there is always something to replace the most common used terms. But I won't go there.