Posted on 05/17/2018 2:26:13 AM PDT by BBell
Emissions of a banned, ozone-depleting chemical are on the rise, a group of scientists reported Wednesday, suggesting someone may be secretly manufacturing the pollutant in violation of an international accord.
Emissions of CFC-11 have climbed 25 percent since 2012, despite the chemical being part of a group of ozone pollutants that were phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
Ive been making these measurements for more than 30 years, and this is the most surprising thing Ive seen, said Stephen Montzka, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who led the work. I was astounded by it, really.
Its a distressing result amid what is widely seen as a global environmental success story, in which nations alarmed by a growing ozone hole collectively took action to phase out chlorofluorocarbons.
The finding seems likely to prompt an international investigation into the mysterious source.
Officially, production of CFC-11 is supposed to be at or near zero at least, that is what countries have been telling the U.N. body that monitors and enforces the Montreal Protocol. But with emissions on the rise, scientists suspect someone is making the chemical in defiance of the ban.
Somebodys cheating, Durwood Zaelke, founder of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and an expert on the Montreal Protocol, said in a comment on the new research. Theres some slight possibility theres an unintentional release, but they make it clear theres strong evidence this is actually being produced.
The scientists dont know exactly who, or where, that person would be. A U.S. observatory in Hawaii found CFC-11 mixed in with other gases that were characteristic of a source coming from somewhere in eastern Asia, but scientists could not narrow the area down any further.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
:: alarmed by a growing ozone hole ::
Thank you, Mr. Editor for using quotes here.
Years before the Montreal Protocol, it was discovered that the sensitive ozone layer ^over the Antarctic^ was not complete and the area free of O3 appeared to be growing. Later, it appeared to be closing (yet never quite closing altogether. Then, OMG, it’s growing again!)
Scientists diligently determined that certain CFRs consumed ozone and therefor MUST be contributing to the “hole”.
What was never explained was 1) was the “hole” closed at anytime BEFORE it was discovered? 2) why is the “hole” only over the Antarctic? and, 3) what is the dynamic that causes the “hole”?
In my opinion, “science ngo-s” assumed a problem then assumed it was anthropogenic and went out and found a conclusion to match their hypothesis. Voila! No more efficient refrigerants for you!
We replaced our air conditioner a couple of years ago. Our old one ran on the old refrigerant. Kept it set at 78 all summer long and was comfy. Our new air conditioner is set on 76 or it feels hot in here. Hubby likes it on 75...which I change all the time. lol We had new energy efficient windows put in too so I think it’s the new refrigerant. It just doesn’t work as well.
...And maybe the millions of tons of pre-80s styrofoam now currently buried in landfills all around the world, and which was often manufactured using CFCs, and which slowly breaks down over time.
I don't believe the science is settled on that. Natural fluctuations in ozone concentration may be a better explanation of ozone holes than CFC damage. There were some legitimate concerns that CFCs were rising into the atmosphere and 'destroying' ozone molecules, but were vastly overstated. Have the doomsday predictions materialized?
Before 'Global Warming', there was the fear of the 'Ozone Hole'. They used the same fear-mongering language and official 'scientific pronouncements' as most of us now recognize with the global warming social engineering. This was the original successful sale of anthropogenic climate change. The premise was that if the world didn't ban CFCs, UV radiation levels on the ground would skyrocket causing skin cancer rates to rise, widespread ecosystem destruction, and species extinction.
U.S. National Cancer Institute statistics show melanoma induced mortality leveled off before the ban; and what species have gone extinct, and what ecosystems have been damaged as a result of UV radiation?
Before Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' global warming scam, he wrote 'Earth in the Balance'. In that he claimed that thanks to the Antarctic ozone hole, 'hunters were now finding blind rabbits and fisherman catching blind salmon'. Same crap he's been peddling for a while.
I'm not going to claim it's a good idea to release CFCs into the atmosphere, but it definitely isn't the apocalypse causing agent they were made out to be. There are a lot of parallels with global warming so color me skeptical.
China, of course. Nobody else.
Somewhere at a college, another grant of our tax dollars is being wasted.
It was always about the patents. The new refrigerants are all patented with considerable royalties going to the patent holders.
The "Ozone Hole" was a scam to justify forced conversion to the new refrigerants - and payments to the companies that owned the patents. Those same companies funded (and continue to fund) the "scientific research" that raises alarms about "ozone depletion".
The Chinese simply are not playing along with the game. These latest "studies" are a warning shot to the Chinese by the current patent holders.
Not at all.
An attempt to throw smoke and mirrors in front of reality.
The human caused ozone scare was the scientifically laughable manufactured crisis that preceded the anthropogenic global warming scam. In actuality the ozone layer is periodically thinned by chlorine thrown into the upper atmosphere by volcanic eruptions.
The driving force behind the ozone scam was that R12 had outlived patentability.
Yep. Global temps down a RECORD 0.56 (or was it 0.59?) degrees Celcius - a a stunning drop - over the past two years, so we have to go back to the last thing that “worked”, an OZONE HOLE! Gasp. Double Gasp.
Very well stated. Please see post 31
I run my AC on 68
Im in the South
Man 75 would be stuffy
I realize thermostats vary though
I have central ....3 units
But I run a small 200 dollar window unit in my bedroom
I like the hum and it gives the central unit a break
During day I put it on economy and at night its on full bore
Three summers now
In Nashville late April maybe till October
I’m in California where no one can afford to run an air conditioner on 68. That would give me a $2000 bill. No thanks.
We have the same thermostat so the difference has to be the ac.
Yet, we should take note that the article never talks of the “hole” itself, only the increase in CFR-11 in the atmosphere...in Hawaii....where there is no hole...but there is an increase in CO2.
Is there a CONTEMPORARY, observable correlation to an increase in the “hole” over the Antarctic? A decrease?
I predict government funded science will tie this to the current climate change crisis. Maybe CFR-11 is causing the current period of cooling? Yeah...that’s the ticket.
My tagline...
I wish temperatures were down where I live.
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