By Josh Gregory
In the context of environmental problems, we have grown accustomed to expect bad news, so I was surprised to read in the newspapers this morning that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is expected to start shrinking by around 2018, and to have healed completely within 70 years.
The worldwide moratorium on the use of ozone-thinning CFCs was one of the early successes of the environmental lobby, even pre-dating the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. Since then, production of CFCs has been largely phased out and restricted to essential uses (for example in fire-prevention systems).
However, in keeping with the almost daily bad news about global warming, this month’s New Scientist has raised fresh cause for concern. In the Arctic archipelago of Spitzbergen (also called Svalbard), a research station attached to the Norwegian Institute for Air Research has reported a recent 100% rise of a CFC-like compound called HFC134a over a period of three years.
Why? Since CFCs were banned, manufacturers across the world have turned to hydroflurocarbon-134a for use in refrigeration units. The problem is that each molecule of this greenhouse gas is 1300 times as potent as CO2.
New hydrocarbon based coolants are available as an alternative to HFC134a, but have yet to make a commercial impact. Maybe Al Gore can mention them in his next film, but in the meantime, it’s time to start feeling ashamed of our refrigerators again.
(Picture courtesy of fotogail via Flickr)
