AAP has run this piece in the Melbourne Age today:
Extreme weather conditions have produced a rare cloud formation over Australia's Mawson station in Antarctica. Meteorological officer Renae Baker captured spectacular images of the nacreous clouds, otherwise known as polar stratospheric clouds, late last month.
Reflecting like an airborne mother-of-pearl shell, the cloud colours are produced when fading light at sunset passes through water-ice crystals blown along a strong jet of stratospheric air more than 10 kilometres above the ground. A weather balloon measured temperatures down to minus 87 degrees celsius when the photographs were taken.
"That's about as cold as the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the surface of the Earth," Ms Baker said. "Amazingly, the winds at this height were blowing at nearly 230 kilometres per hour."
Australian Antarctic Division atmospheric scientist Andrew Klekociuk said the clouds were seldom seen but could have long-ranging effects. "These clouds are more than just a curiosity," he said. "They reveal extreme conditions in the atmosphere and promote chemical changes that lead to destruction of vital stratospheric ozone."
At the same time, a new report, originally from this site, claims that China is way up there in trading ODSs. The EIA describes how China is smuggling ODSs around the world. It shows how undercover investigators, posing as chemical dealers, visited a number of firms in Zhejiang province and this is what I keep going on about, regarding China and what it’s up to.
The report says:
The initial order was equivalent to more than 12 per cent of the entire quantity of CFCs available under the protocol to China for all its exports and stockpiling needs in 2006, the report said.
The most frequently used method to smuggle CFCs was by mis-declaring them as alternative chemicals that are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. China ratified the protocol in 1991 and later accepted a multimillion dollar package to bring the end of production forward by three years.
Now I have been going on about China ever since this blog began and before – even the name of the blog, nourishing obscurity, is Chinese in origin and refers to their method of operation. Even if we could forgive the Chinese for this latest, there is still the coal burning and the arms dealing to address, before getting onto a list of other issues.
I also implied, in the pieces on Korea, below, that China needed watching the whole time. But of course, you don’t need me to tell you that.
An old EPA report puts the ozone question in layman's terms:
Scientists have found "holes" in the ozone layer high above the Earth. The 1990 Clean Air Act has provisions for fixing the holes, but repairs will take a long time. Ozone holes aren't like doughnut holes; they're not empty spaces in the sky. Ozone holes are much like the worn-out places in an old sock or sweater: there are still threads covering the worn-out area, but the fabric can be so thin you can see right through it.
Ozone in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere nine to 31 miles above the Earth, serves as a protective shield, filtering out harmful sun rays, including a type of sunlight called ultraviolet B. Exposure to ultraviolet B has been linked to development of cataracts (eye damage) and skin cancer.
In the mid 1970s, scientists suggested that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could destroy stratospheric ozone. CFCs were widely used then as aerosol propellants in consumer products such as hairsprays and deodorants, and for many uses in industry. Because of concern about the possible effects of CFCs on the ozone layer, in 1978 the U.S. government banned CFCs as propellants in aerosol cans.
Since the aerosol ban, scientists have been measuring the ozone layer. A few years ago, an ozone hole was found above Antarctica, including the area of the South Pole. This hole, which has been appearing each year during the Antarctic winter (our summer), is bigger than the continental United States.
More recently, ozone thinning has been found in the stratosphere above the northern half of the United States; the hole extends over Canada and up into the Arctic regions (the area of the North Pole).
The hole was first found only in winter and spring, but more recently has continued into summer. Between 1978 and 1991, there was a 4-5 percent loss of ozone in the stratosphere over the United States; this is a significant loss of ozone. Ozone holes have also been found over northern Europe.
What could a thinned-out ozone layer do to people's lives? There could be more skin cancers and cataracts. Scientists are looking into possible harm to agriculture, and there is already some evidence of damage to plant life in Antarctic seas.
Evidence that the ozone layer is dwindling led 93 nations, including the major industrialized nations, to agree to cooperate in reducing production and use of chemicals that destroy the ozone layer. As it became clear that the ozone layer was thinning even more quickly than first thought, the agreement was revised to speed up the phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals.
Unfortunately, it will be a long time before we see the ozone layer repaired. Because of the ozone-destroying chemicals already in the stratosphere and those that will arrive within the next few years, ozone destruction will likely continue for another twenty years.
CFCs from car air conditioners are the biggest single source of ozone-destroying chemicals. By the end of 1993, all car air conditioner systems must be serviced using equipment that recycles CFCs and prevents their release into the air.
In the meantime, refrigerator servicing and disposal will have to be done in ways that don't release CFCs. Methyl chloroform, also called l,l,l-trichloroethane, is a very widely-used solvent found in products such as automobile brake cleaners (often sold as aerosol sprays) and spot removers used to take greasy stains off fabrics. Replacing methyl chloroform in workplace and consumer products will lead to changes in many products and processes.
As substitutes are developed for ozone-destroying substances, before the chemicals can be produced and sold, EPA must determine that the replacements will be safe for health and the environment.
Consumer products containing CFCs and other ozone-destroying chemicals will have to be reformulated.
Extreme weather conditions have produced a rare cloud formation over Australia's Mawson station in Antarctica. Meteorological officer Renae Baker captured spectacular images of the nacreous clouds, otherwise known as polar stratospheric clouds, late last month.
Reflecting like an airborne mother-of-pearl shell, the cloud colours are produced when fading light at sunset passes through water-ice crystals blown along a strong jet of stratospheric air more than 10 kilometres above the ground. A weather balloon measured temperatures down to minus 87 degrees celsius when the photographs were taken.
"That's about as cold as the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the surface of the Earth," Ms Baker said. "Amazingly, the winds at this height were blowing at nearly 230 kilometres per hour."
Australian Antarctic Division atmospheric scientist Andrew Klekociuk said the clouds were seldom seen but could have long-ranging effects. "These clouds are more than just a curiosity," he said. "They reveal extreme conditions in the atmosphere and promote chemical changes that lead to destruction of vital stratospheric ozone."
At the same time, a new report, originally from this site, claims that China is way up there in trading ODSs. The EIA describes how China is smuggling ODSs around the world. It shows how undercover investigators, posing as chemical dealers, visited a number of firms in Zhejiang province and this is what I keep going on about, regarding China and what it’s up to.
The report says:
The initial order was equivalent to more than 12 per cent of the entire quantity of CFCs available under the protocol to China for all its exports and stockpiling needs in 2006, the report said.
The most frequently used method to smuggle CFCs was by mis-declaring them as alternative chemicals that are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. China ratified the protocol in 1991 and later accepted a multimillion dollar package to bring the end of production forward by three years.
Now I have been going on about China ever since this blog began and before – even the name of the blog, nourishing obscurity, is Chinese in origin and refers to their method of operation. Even if we could forgive the Chinese for this latest, there is still the coal burning and the arms dealing to address, before getting onto a list of other issues.
I also implied, in the pieces on Korea, below, that China needed watching the whole time. But of course, you don’t need me to tell you that.
An old EPA report puts the ozone question in layman's terms:
Scientists have found "holes" in the ozone layer high above the Earth. The 1990 Clean Air Act has provisions for fixing the holes, but repairs will take a long time. Ozone holes aren't like doughnut holes; they're not empty spaces in the sky. Ozone holes are much like the worn-out places in an old sock or sweater: there are still threads covering the worn-out area, but the fabric can be so thin you can see right through it.
Ozone in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere nine to 31 miles above the Earth, serves as a protective shield, filtering out harmful sun rays, including a type of sunlight called ultraviolet B. Exposure to ultraviolet B has been linked to development of cataracts (eye damage) and skin cancer.
In the mid 1970s, scientists suggested that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could destroy stratospheric ozone. CFCs were widely used then as aerosol propellants in consumer products such as hairsprays and deodorants, and for many uses in industry. Because of concern about the possible effects of CFCs on the ozone layer, in 1978 the U.S. government banned CFCs as propellants in aerosol cans.
Since the aerosol ban, scientists have been measuring the ozone layer. A few years ago, an ozone hole was found above Antarctica, including the area of the South Pole. This hole, which has been appearing each year during the Antarctic winter (our summer), is bigger than the continental United States.
More recently, ozone thinning has been found in the stratosphere above the northern half of the United States; the hole extends over Canada and up into the Arctic regions (the area of the North Pole).
The hole was first found only in winter and spring, but more recently has continued into summer. Between 1978 and 1991, there was a 4-5 percent loss of ozone in the stratosphere over the United States; this is a significant loss of ozone. Ozone holes have also been found over northern Europe.
What could a thinned-out ozone layer do to people's lives? There could be more skin cancers and cataracts. Scientists are looking into possible harm to agriculture, and there is already some evidence of damage to plant life in Antarctic seas.
Evidence that the ozone layer is dwindling led 93 nations, including the major industrialized nations, to agree to cooperate in reducing production and use of chemicals that destroy the ozone layer. As it became clear that the ozone layer was thinning even more quickly than first thought, the agreement was revised to speed up the phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals.
Unfortunately, it will be a long time before we see the ozone layer repaired. Because of the ozone-destroying chemicals already in the stratosphere and those that will arrive within the next few years, ozone destruction will likely continue for another twenty years.
CFCs from car air conditioners are the biggest single source of ozone-destroying chemicals. By the end of 1993, all car air conditioner systems must be serviced using equipment that recycles CFCs and prevents their release into the air.
In the meantime, refrigerator servicing and disposal will have to be done in ways that don't release CFCs. Methyl chloroform, also called l,l,l-trichloroethane, is a very widely-used solvent found in products such as automobile brake cleaners (often sold as aerosol sprays) and spot removers used to take greasy stains off fabrics. Replacing methyl chloroform in workplace and consumer products will lead to changes in many products and processes.
As substitutes are developed for ozone-destroying substances, before the chemicals can be produced and sold, EPA must determine that the replacements will be safe for health and the environment.
Consumer products containing CFCs and other ozone-destroying chemicals will have to be reformulated.
The ozone layer has been written and written about but despite bans on a cocktail of chemicals and a plethora of other commendable measures, still Asia continues to do its thing and still the US refuses to subscribe to Kyoto or any of its subsequent manifestations.
This is a dangerous issue, and being academically interested in this field, currently working on a dissertation on this issue, and also being a mother, this problem is perhaps of more concern to a woman.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is not correct but that’s how I see it. I think that our world is capable of solving this problem, paying particular attention to the industrialization of developed countries.