Geez, no kidding. Nobody knows how long the ozone hole was there or what caused it. That is an absolute fact. We humans are so proud, lol.
If anyone says that they’re completely on one "side" or the other of this issue then there’s a good chance they’re not worth listening to. Unfortunately this has been a politicized issue, on both ends, for at least 15 years now. I don’t know about any biases www.realclimate.org might have, but I searched the site for articles by or about David Keith, who is one of the leaders in researching engineering based solutions, and couldn’t find any. The only place I found him mentioned was in the comments on several articles, and that certainly makes me very sceptical about the information provided by that site. On David Keith work, the science geeks here can probably get quite a bit out of this: Direct Capture of CO2 from the Air http://www.ucalgary.ca/~keith/Misc/AC technology Dec 2008.pdf See also this Ted presentation he gave on a different stopgap solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkEys3PeseA
This website put together by climatologists provides some balance- link "ICECAP, International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project, is the portal to all things climate for elected officials and staffers, journalists, scientists, educators and the public. It provides access to a new and growing global society of respected scientists and journalists that are not deniers that our climate is dynamic (the only constant in nature is change) and that man plays a role in climate change through urbanization, land use changes and the introduction of greenhouse gases and aerosols, but who also believe that natural cycles such as those in the sun and oceans are also important contributors to the global changes in our climate and weather. We worry the sole focus on greenhouse gases and the unwise reliance on imperfect climate models while ignoring real data may leave civilization unprepared for a sudden climate shift that history tells us will occur again, very possibly soon. "
You are again displaying a lack of knowledge of the subject. CFC's and other ozone depleting chemicals were used for much much more than hairspray but were used widely in industry. Most air conditioners prior to the 90's used ozone depleting chemicals as coolants. These were also in use for many more decades than just the 80's. As noted the situation with the Ozone layer is getting better. Its not getting great but there is a very strong correlation with the improving situation and a decrease in the use of ozone depleting chemicals.
I wish to see the politics surrounding the issue minimized, and the good science and good discussion brought to the fore. And yes, I know you were being sarcastic.
Cool, another scientist on here. So where did you get your Ph D in atmospheric science? That's why you're such an expert on this subject that we should listen to you over everyone else, right?
This is why I'm such a supporter of manned space flight and our expansion into the cosmos. Either "we" will be able to escape the coming doom of our planet, or we'll be able to escape the mad men (and women) running around dressed in animal costumes. Looks like a win-win to me.
We should leave temporarily on a huge space cruiser and leave little robots behind to clean up behind us.
True and the Earth was even warmer during the Jurrassic times and much colder 20,000 years ago with North America was first settled. That said I'm sure the dinosaurs didn't find massive climate change very appealing nor did the humans of the last ice age. Humanity will survive but consider that our civilization has developed within a very narrow climate range and changes of a few degrees could be disastrous.
Good grief. Yes I am fully aware that freon is a CFC and has been used for a while.(my hairspray comments were tongue in cheek FYI) They discovered the hole in 1985. So the "situation" is getting "better"? Better than what? What is the situation? The reality is they don't know if the hole has been there forever or how big it was or should be or really much more than anything since 1985 other than it changes. The media and politicians sensationalized and politicized an issue that no one is sure is an issue. But its OK, you can be scared if you want, I'm still pissed I can't get the good Aqua Net anymore.
Ok, so the earth might not become any warmer in the next 30 years. Let's have our ways and leave that s*** to our children.
