Report: Antarctic ozone hole sets record

LONDON (Reuters) --The gaping, man-made hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has hit record proportions for this time of year and could get bigger still within the next few days, a leading scientist said on Friday.

At just short of 28 million square kilometers, the hole is a fraction under the absolute record of 28.5 million, but it has historically peaked in the second week in September and therefore could theoretically grow further, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientist Jonathan Shanklin told Reuters.

"It was the largest it has ever been during August, and we are waiting to see what happens over the next few days," Shanklin told Reuters by telephone from BAS headquarters in Cambridge.

The stratospheric ozone layer protects the earth's surface from damaging ultraviolet rays that can cause skin cancer.

In 2002 the hole suddenly shrank, raising hopes it had turned the corner and was starting to close. But Shanklin said scientists now believed this was an abnormality due to atmospheric conditions, and that the 2003 expansion was back to more normal activity.

Shanklin said there was no direct link between the hole and the sharp rise in skin cancers worldwide, which he said was closely linked to changing lifestyles. However, he said the general thinning of the ozone layer elsewhere because of chemical depletion was almost certainly involved in the rise.

Shanklin, one of the scientists who first discovered the ozone hole in 1985, said he and his colleagues were still at a loss to explain exactly why it had got so big in August.

"The ozone hole is continuously in motion. It is rather like a spinning top," he said.

The 1985 discovery forced a radical review and ultimately a complete change in many industries that were belching ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere.

The consequent drop in output of these chemicals began to bite in 1994 and is now some six percent down on its peak.

However, the time lag in the chemicals reaching the upper atmosphere and attacking the key stratospheric ozone layer has meant that the benefits of the output reduction has taken several years to feed through.

"We don't know if the hole has finally peaked, is over the top and on the way down or still has a bit further to go," Shanklin said.

"We are sure that we are pretty near the top, but we could have to wait another decade to be able to say definitively that the worst is over and it is starting to recover," he added.

Shanklin said it was vital for countries to stick to the Montreal Treaty curbing the emission of ozone depleting chemicals.

But he stressed that until there was similar accord on greenhouse gases it was impossible to tell what effect there would be on the atmosphere.

Most major polluting nations have signed up to the Kyoto treaty curbing carbon dioxide emissions. But the United States has refused, even going so far as to refuse to accept that the gas is a pollutant.

"It would be excellent if all countries in the world pulled together on greenhouse gases," Shanklin said. "The discovery of the ozone hole proved we can change our atmosphere so easily. It was a big surprise. There may well be further surprises in store for us."

BLACK by NATURE, PROUD by CHOICE.
Free your mind, and the rest will follow.

"It would be excellent if all countries in the world pulled together on greenhouse gases..."

I think it is going to take international pressure for the Bush administration to line up with the other major polluting nations. US leaders are too drunk with greed to care that their policies are destroying our planet. And most Americans have become complacent with their lifestyles and cannot see what's happening around them.

Human activity is damaging the very systems that make life on earth possible. The ozone problem contributes to record-breaking weather, air pollution, drought, insect problems, and extinction of animals. If we don't change, there is no telling what strange catastrophe nature has in store for us. This is a crucial issue. I'm listening for views on environmental issues from presidential candidates in the upcoming election.

Love and Respect youself...If you're unable to change the thought, or what you did, then at least love yourself for noticing. -Len

quote:

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Originally posted by Len:
...pressure for the Bush administration.

I'm listening for views on environmental issues from presidential candidates in the upcoming election.

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red
BLACK
green

I think that sums up Dubya's environmental policy just right...

I agree with you, Len. It really is a shame that most people don't know anything about how important environmental issues are to us in this day and time ... and many will probably wait until it's too late and then ask, "But, what happened?"

As far as the Bush Administration goes, it will not be them who do anything positive towards fixing the ozone or any other environmental problem. If and when he does tackle another issue other than his wars, it will be pressing domestic issues and by then his time will have run out.

We can only hope our next president is environmentally conscious. Because this one does not and will never have a clue!

BLACK by NATURE, PROUD by CHOICE.
Free your mind, and the rest will follow.

Yep, Ricardomath, it probably was!

It was probably in that same speech where he said there were no poor people in America!

BLACK by NATURE, PROUD by CHOICE.
Free your mind, and the rest will follow.