O-zone depletion

[Sir_Knight]

It appears that now our oceans are responsible for the depletion of the O-zone …

environment.newscientist.com/article/dn14211-tropical-ocean-sucks-up-vast-amounts-of-ozone-.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news3_head_dn14211

… So, in the 1970’s, the scientific theory was that Ozone is a component of smog and we’re all gonna die. The solution was to spend billions reducing automobile emissions and get rid of the ozone resulting in cars getting a lot more expensive.

Then in the 1980’s, the scientific theory was that we don’t have enough ozone. There’s a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica and we’re all gonna die. The solution was to spend billions to eliminate Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) so we’ll have more ozone resulting in air conditioners, refrigeration — and cars — getting a lot more expensive.

Now, in the 2000’s, the scientific theory is that the oceans keep ozone in check, but global warming means we’ll have too much ozone and we’re all gonna die. The solution is to spend trillions to reduce global warming so the ocean will suck more ozone out of the atmosphere resulting in nobody being able to afford a car and having no food because we converted it all into ethanol to run the cars that we can’t afford.

Kind of makes one wonder if the “scientists” really have any idea what they’re talking about, or if they’re just sort making it up as they go along.

 

[tonyl]

Kind of makes one wonder if the “scientists” really have any idea what they’re talking about, or if they’re just sort making it up as they go along.

No, it kind of makes me wonder if you bother to even attempt to understand what the scientists are claiming, what the data is, and why there is a difference between the ozone in the troposphere and the ozone in the stratosphere.

Ozone is a component of smog. This is in the troposphere. It does produce negative health effects, reduce crop yields, and damage plastics and other materials.

The Ozone in the Stratosphere was and is still diminishing, but the rate of depletion was slowed greatly by the elimination of the use of many CFCs. (we still use CFCs in air conditioning, we just use different ones these days.) There is still an Ozone hole that opens over the Arctic yearly.

Ozone that sits in the Troposphere can act as a greenhouse gas. This recent finding (the one talked about in the article you link) simply shows that chemicals released above the oceans speed the chemical breakdown of Ozone. Where your whole, “global warming means we’ll have too much ozone” comes from, I don’t know, nor do I see how you draw a connection between the effect of oceans on low level ozone to the depletion of high level ozone.

 

[Dale_M]

It appears that now our oceans are responsible for the depletion of the O-zone …

The article doesn’t say that. The oceans are cited as a natural mechanism for keeping ozone levels in balance. The article goes on to say this natural mechanism may be overwhelmed by industrial pollution.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Isn’t that the same thing?

 

[Dale_M]

No, it isn’t the same thing. The article says that the oceans are one way the Earth regulates its ozone, which is constantly being produced by natural forces. Concern over ozone depletion revolved around the emission of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which were destroying the protective ozone layer in the stratosphere.

Although the relationship between ground level ozone and stratospheric ozone is poorly understood, I think it is reasonable to assume that the oceans would primarily be affecting ground level ozone.