Im suspicious of thatr hole in our ozone layer...what do you think?

Question

I wont deny we need to take care of our planet and it is really bad for us to take our resources for granted, but Im getting this feeling that the hole in our ozone layer is a myth.

-could global warming be the result of one of those weirdo phenominons(sorry dont know how to spell that) in which the earth has been slowly moving closer or farther away drom the sun?

-everytime we talk in class about global warming everyone just goes back and forth on whether we are going to burn or freeze to death, like eco terrorist

-how come i wasnt informed about the ozone layer until their was a hole in it?

-i am most definetly not agreeing with people who have said "Global warming is an athiest plot to confiscate our pickup trucks", but what if they are on to something(nothing to do with thiest)

-ever since the idea of their being a hole in the ozone layer came out, ive just noticed a rise in advertisements for "eco-friendly" cars

Answer 1

sometimes things happen in sequence.

it wasn't until Eisenhower left office that i heard of president kennedy.

and it wasn't until after bush-1 left office that i heard of clinton.

- if you'd had a science class some years ago, you'd have known about the ozone layer.

- scientists have tested ozone in the laboratory, and seen how CFCs destroy it.

- they've also done spectroscopic analysis, and found that there's less of it when the sun is stronger.

- we're not going to burn or freeze to death.  i'm astounded that your teacher would allow that conversation without correcting the errors.

+ have you read about Darfur, and the people killed there?

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=...

<<UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the slaughter in Darfur was triggered by global climate change and that more such conflicts may be on the horizon, in an article published Saturday.

"The Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change," Ban said in a Washington Post opinion column.

UN statistics showed that rainfall declined some 40 percent over the past two decades, he said, as a rise in Indian Ocean temperatures disrupted monsoons.

"This suggests that the drying of sub-Saharan Africa derives, to some degree, from man-made global warming," the South Korean diplomat wrote.

"It is no accident that the violence in Darfur erupted during the drought," Ban said in the Washington daily.

When Darfur's land was rich, he said, black farmers welcomed Arab herders and shared their water, he said.

With the drought, however, farmers fenced in their land to prevent overgrazing.

"For the first time in memory, there was no longer enough food and water for all. Fighting broke out," he said. >>

so, global warming has already caused 200,000+ deaths.

as time goes on, you'll see more and more eco friendly cars.  it has nothing to do with ozone.  (well not a lot.)  it has to do with pollution in general, and specifically these days, CO2 and climate change.

by the way, the ozone hole is recovering --- very slowly, but recovering none the less.  our change away from freon has made a large difference.

Answer 2

I've never believed that "hole in the ozone layer is dangerous" idea- it seems illogical to me.

Answer 3

The hole in the ozone layer is caused by chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants and propellants.  These molecules seemed like a excellent source of refrigerant because they are relatively nontoxic and easy to use.  What was discovered is that when CFCs are released into the atmosphere they degrade the ozone layer than protects us from harmful sun radiation.  The ozone layer is constantly creating O3 (ozone) and O2 (diatomic oxygen) because of the instability of O3 and O molecules.  This is called the ozone-oxygen cycle.  

1. O2 photodissociates by absorbing UV light (~240nm) into 2 O atoms ->

2. O + O2 -> O3

3. O3 absorbs UV light (~310-200nm) and photodissociates ->

O3 -> O + O2

final step--this cycle continues until O3 + O -> O2

the balance of this cycle is what keeps the ozone layer stable.

When CFC's enter the atmosphere, the chlorine molecules react with an ozone molecule to make the compounds:  ClO and diatomic oxygen, O2.  ClO is not very stable and will combine with an oxygen atom to make Cl and O.  Since Cl is produced again it continues to cycle and destroy more ozone.

1. O3 + Cl -> ClO + O2

2. ClO + O -> Cl + O2

then step 1 occurs again and it continues to cycle.

This is what causes a hole.  It's the interuption of the natural reactions that keep the ozone intact.  It's not a hole like plastic wrap or something, its the thinning of ozone molecules over time.  The biggest problem is that this continues to occur for many years.  The half-life of clorine in the atmosphere is 50-100 years, that means that 50% or more of the Cl that was released into the atmosphere in 1950 is still up there and is continuing to combine with ozone.  

Because of this, the ozone problem is real and now using CFCs is illegal but we will continue to see the effects of the use of CFCs for many years and it's hard to say if the destruction of the ozone has peaked or not.  What's good is that because we stopped using CFCs eventually the ozone should restore its balance.

Answer 4

When people are baking themselves out in the sun on purpose, you cannot make the jump in logic that increased skin cancer is necessarily caused by a hole in the ozone.  It may be that there is greater exposure to the sun, more people in the sun, more diagnoses,etc.  

CFCs have been shown to act as a catalyst and they decompose ozone molecules.  Humans have emitted CFCs but I suspect the effect or danger from human emissions were greatly exaggerated.  The previous answer suggests that it is proved by increased cancer.  It is not.  It is these sorts of wild claims by alarmists that discredits them.

Linlions and suzyQ again exaggerate the effects.  The so called hole in the ozone is seasonal.  Ozone is formed by the sun's radiation striking the outer atmosphere.  Obviously when the sun doesn't strike it as much, i.e. in the winter, the ozone concentration decreases.  That is all we are talking about anyway, periodic decreases in concentration.  It never completely disappears.

What you suggested about the earth moving closer and further from the sun is true.  That is the result of the Milankovitch cycle which is a variation in our orbit and axis of rotation.  It is the primary mechanism for cooling and warming the earth.  Other mechanisms include solar cycles, and theoretically variations in greenhouse gases, but again the role of greenhouse gases has probably been grossly exaggerated to push a political agenda, in my opinion.

Note: Examine what Bubba says.  He is a typical alarmist.  He suggests that the Montreal Protocol has led to a reduced ozone hole.  Typical leftist thinking.  They think humans are so destructive that they must be blamed for all that goes wrong.  I don't think there is good evidence (no evidence) that lowering emissions had anything to do with smaller holes but environmentalist are quick to take credit for anything they did, even if the science isn't there to back it up.   It is more about politics than science.

Make no mistake about it.  Environmentalism a leftist political movement, not science.  I may get lots of down arrows from them because it is emotional with them.  Science isn't served by emotion.

Answer 5

Global Warming  is not happening. The green house that was to cause it is not there. The CO2 is very low compared to other gases. Plants have done a great job in removing CO2 ,as the plants need CO2 as much as U do oxygen. Then the Methane it is just not there. If U don't believe me go measure it. The Left has calculated to produce the number that they want.

   The ozone layer is generated at the very edge of space. What forms it is where the solar winds collide with the earth's magnetic field. There is a hole that forms at the poles but is how the magnetic field is shaped.

Answer 6

Both climate change and the hole in the ozone layer are real, but I think that you are getting them confused.  They are two different things, though related.  Check on the link.

Answer 7

I'm really scared of that hole. That's what I think!

Answer 8

multiple things feed into this hole and part of it is us and part is just nature

Answer 9

There are a lot of BS stories about the environment out there.  Ozone depletion is real.  There is a natural hole in the ozone layer over Antartica that is seasonal.  There is also a thinning of our Ozone layer being caused by our actions - CFC use etc.

Melanoma diagnosis, a deadly form of skin cancer, has DOUBLED in the last 20 years.  Melanoma is known to be caused by UV radiation.  The earths defense against UV radiation is the Ozone layer.  Put two and two together - Ozone depletion is REAL.

Answer 10

Holes in the ozone open up and close all the time. It is just a function of nature.

Answer 11

It's real, but your right about there being a natural hole.  The size of the hole changes with the season.  The cause of the increased size was dealt with in the 1980's with the Montreal Protocol limiting the use of CFCs.  It has gotten smaller over the years.  It is really more of a history thing now.

Ozone close to the ground is a bad thing - hurts peoples lungs if the concentration gets to high and has an effect on global warming (can't remember if it is a greenhouse gas or if it cools off the top of my head).  Ozone in the stratosphere blocks some very destructive ultra-violet radiation.  Without the ozone layer, life would of had a very hard time moving from the oceans to land because ultra-violet radiation has enough energy to sometimes alter DNA.  If you live under the hole (a country in South America did in the 1980s when the hole was largest at the south pole), you can end up with skin cancer.  It will kill you if you don't treat it.  It was a real problem.  

There are orbital influences as well as solar cycles that affect the climate and ice age cycles.  This also has been long known.  Global warming and climate change are affected by the natural cycles but also by human activity.  

You are just becoming aware of the different ways people change their environment and the potential consequences.  All animals change their environment.  People just have the unique ability to think ahead and recognize problems that need to be addressed.  Back when I was a kid, cancer was the big thing.  Everything causes cancer (it may in excess), but one week was hotdogs, the next tap water.  It just took a little time to sort out the potential risk and determine if they were really significant.

I think that is the link between the ozone hole (a problem identified and solved years ago), global warming (a problem we recognize and are searching for a way to solve), and a "eco-friendly car (a potential solution that may help reduce CO2 emissions partly responsible for global warming).  We'll sort the potential risk out and determine a reasonable response at some point.  The difference is the cancer problem only required individuals (mostly) to respond, the global warming problem requires major government as well as individual response for all the earth.  That is much harder.

Answer 12

i guess u might not have born by the time hole in ozone layer are caused..

go through this to know wat scientifically happened and is happening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_deple...