WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Earth's protective ozone layer, which was notably thinning in 1980, may be fully recovered by mid-century, climate scientists said on Wednesday. Ozone in the stratosphere, outside the polar regions, stopped thinning in 1997, the scientists found after analyzing 25 years worth of observations. The ozone layer shields the planet from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, but human-made chemicals -- notably the chlorofluorocarbons found in some refrigerants and aerosol propellants -- depleted this stratospheric ozone, causing the protective layer to get thinner. The scientists said the ozone layer's comeback is due in large part to compliance with an 1987 international agreement called the Montreal Protocol, which aimed to limit emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals. "These results confirm the Montreal Protocol and its amendments have succeeded in stopping the loss of ozone in the stratosphere," said Eun-Su Yang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led a team that analyzed the data. "At the current recovery rate ... the global ozone layer could be restored to 1980 levels -- the time that scientists first noticed the harmful effects human activities were having on atmospheric ozone -- sometime in the middle of this century," Yang said in a statement. While ozone is a beneficial shield in the stratosphere, some six to 31 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone encountered at ground level can be damaging to lung tissue and plants and is a major component of smog. The analysis was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. Researchers from NASA and other agencies reported in June that the so-called ozone hole over Antarctica would recover by around 2068, which is some 20 years later than previously expected. The Antarctic ozone hole is a massive loss of ozone that occurs each spring in the Southern Hemisphere. A similar, though smaller and less severe, ozone hole has been reported in the Arctic.
That's one of the biggest con games the tree huggers ever pulled on us. We have ozone action days in the summer, where we try not to produce too much ozone. It's the tree hugger shell game, ozone bad at ground level, ozone good 100 miles up. They need to make up their feeble mind, is ozone good, or is ozone bad.
yea GR I know I dont believe it , they once said cow farts was causing global warming. we have more cattle now then ever, why is it getting better? I dont believe that the earth we live on is weak enough that we could kill it.
One of the biggest threats to the ozone layer is the effects of volcanic eruptions, something over which we have no control. The cow farts I can almost believe - ever been in a milking parlor on a hot summer afternoon? Its enough to kill the average human being
Milking parlor? Now that's a new one on me. I swear I've got to go up north one of theses days; down here, we barley let the dogs in the kitchen, let alone cows in the parlor. My darling wife won't even let me hang a stuffed moose in the house.
We've got to get you into cow country someday SC. I had a job as a "milk maid" at one time. There would be 2 of us in the pit which allowed us to work at udder level as the cows entered the rotary style parlor. Once the cow entered the chamber, we'd swab the udder with peroxide, clamp on the milking cups, move on the the next and repeat. Returning to the first in the rotary, we'd pull the cups, dip the teets in iodine, open their gate and move them out. With a herd of 150 it took several hours, twice a day.
