Thursday, September 24, 2009

OK to get out that hair spray?


The ozone hole above Antarctica may be closing.
In another 90 years or so, it may close entirely.
Australian scientists say their work suggests the hole, discovered in the 1980s and feared for the way it lets in unfiltered ultra violet rays, may be shrinking.
Some two decades ago the Montreal Protocol banned chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that were believe responsible for poking a hole in the ozone layer and keeping '80s hairstyles lookin' fine. The ban may have actually helped.
Measurements made with weather balloons and lasers provide new evidence that the hole is getting smaller. It's still three times the size of Australia. It just used to be bigger.
Keep in mind, however, that there's some suggestion that it acts as an accidental vent of greenhouse gases and may be the reason the planet hasn't heated up more quickly.

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