As you requested, here are the facts for you concerning Freon and its link to Global Warming. This is a reply to an email I sent off on the question. It is from a bank of educators and scientists that volunteer to field questions from the general public. While no one study is pointed to, the explanation speaks for itself. If you need any further information, I suggest that you take it up with these fine individuals whose specialty it is.
> > > > > name David C.
> > > > > status educator
> > > > > age 40s
> > > > > Question - What is the study that was done to show that CFCs
>(Freon)
> > > > > depletes the ozone layer that the ban on making freon was based upon
>as
> > > > > solid science?.
> >
>There is not just ONE study showing that CFC's (Freons) deplete the ozone
>layer that resulted in that class of chemical to be banned. There are
>hundreds (maybe thousands) of studies probing every aspect of their
>behavior, from laboratory simulations to the transport properties of CFC's
>and their photochemical reaction products in various parts of the
>atmosphere. The overwhelming concensus of all these studies is that Freons
>decompose photochemically in the upper atmosphere producing chain reactions
>that destroy the protective layer of ozone.
>
>While no science can ever have "Biblical" certainty -- science must by its
>nature be refutable (found to be wrong or need of modification) -- there has
>not been a scientific question or problem studied in the twentieth century
>with the thoroughness with which this one has been studied -- with the
>possible exception of the "no brainer" that atmospheric explosion of nuclear
>devices is globally harmful.
>
>If you need convincing do a web search on www.google.com using the term(s):
>"CFC's ozone depletion". You will find resources and studies at any level of
>sophistication you desire that arrive at the same general conclusion. You
>will also find a few polemic sites that claim there is no problem, but these
>are based on non-science, and even claim that the whole thing is a Communist
>plot etc. In the same category as "the moon landing was a hoax."
>
>Vince Calder
Perhaps, you could show me where in your post global warming and Freon (CFC's) are linked. The ozone layer has nothing to do with global warming. It protects from UV radiation, which is important, but does not
have anything to do with warming. Mr. Calder doesn't mention warming in his mail to you.
posted on July 24, 2001 08:55:24 PM
I remember reading that polar bears have fur that is white to visible light but has the special property of conducting UV radiation down to the base like an optic fiber and contributing to the warmth of the bear rather than simply being scattered away and lost. Since the ozone depletion disproportionally effects the polar regions it follows that the first place that will see an increase in temperature from ozone depletion is in the actual bodies of polar bears. It has no study to support it but I would look to see if there is a mine-canary effect here where polar bears are a harbringer of the contribution of increased UV to global warming - growing uncomfortably warm in their previously happy enviroment long before other effects and measurements show a rise. We need a federal study enlisting brave researchers to insert radio tracking rectal thermometers in polar bear populations to track this potential problem.
posted on July 24, 2001 09:24:12 PM"Mr. Calder doesn't mention warming in his mail to you."
I was originally stating only what everyone has been told as true. The science of it exists in abundance on the Internet, as Mr. Calder reported. This is a subject that hinges upon many branches of science, not just on chemistry alone. Therefore, no one study can be pointed to as being definitive on the subject, but rather, a whole slew of studies are needed (and were used) that piece together a picture. Your request to produce one single study is not possible because no one study can cover all of the necessary branches of science involved. You will have to be satisfied that the facts and the studies do exist but in a manifold selection.
I understand, now. There are so many studies on the subject, that it's impossible to find one that states, Freon helps cause global warming. No wonder you couldn't find one.
posted on July 25, 2001 04:57:17 AM
In fairness here is an article about how ozone depletion may effect global warming by change of the krill biomass in polar regions.
posted on July 26, 2001 12:04:29 PM
I seem to remember that the ozone hole that was supposedly discovered was in the south pole. Polar bears, of course, live at the north pole.
posted on July 26, 2001 03:49:22 PM
There is a hole at the North also but not as big as the South for some reason. Don't make sense to me because most of the Freon was released in the Northern Hemisphere and mixing across the equator is slower than within each half. But hey - most of this is not intuitive. Maybe being land underneath instead of ice matters. Who knows?
Recked em, damned near killed 'em!!
