Originally Posted by SRQG8
John, with an absolutely huge amount of respect, please let me ask a question. If the majority of the world's population still uses "ozone-depleting CFCs" and other propellents and refrigerants, then why is there no more worry about a hole in the ozone layer anymore? Just because NA and Western Europe no longer use the "bad" stuff? It doesn't make sense to me. Please educate me on this. Thanks!
Good point I will look into that. Thanks. My first thought is that since the US and Western Europe are the most tech-intensive countries we'd contribute an impact far greater than more populated Third World places. I THINK the Montreal Accord did result in a pretty widespread global avoidance of CFCs though I don't know if that is true. Last I heard I think the US is about 6% of the global human population yet uses 40% of the planet's energy and resources. I forget what percentage of the pollution stream we contribute as a society.
I see many factors having helped the ozone layer to heal, like the deep cutback of use of bromides as farm soil sterilants. As best as I can tell we humans can bring a full spectrum of both good and bad impacts to the global ecology. We deforest like there is no tomorrow, yet we saved the buffalo and other species despite having rendered the Passenger Pigeon and thousands others extinct...forever. We stopped unsustainable whaling yet Felujah, Iraq, is suffering heartbreaking rates of deformed infants and cancer in children and adults due to the U.S. showering the area with depleted uranium-based explosive shells. But here in Florida in the 70s we saved the brown pelican, bald eagle, kite and osprey, plus the Gulf shrimping industry, by working hard to get Mirex and other DDT-related compounds banned.
Since 1970 I've tried in varying ways to help heal this planet's ecology, and I've witnessed many victories that emotionally help to offset the losses. So when someone whose kids' blood levels of lead are DRAMATICALLY lower than kids 30 years ago due to us "tree hugging-freakin-hippies-enviro-weenies" getting off our asses and doing something ( like fighting to get leaded gasoline banned) for 1-3 decades now chooses to refer to us as, me included, with any of those perjorative labels vs. "environmentalists", especially since so often they seem remarkably unaware of a broad base of widely available empirical data that suggests that yes humans DO affect the planetary ecology, I'm hard pressed to take them seriously. I guess name calling is far easier than contributing suggestions for substantive solutions.
A petri dish could seem "infinite" to three E. coli bacteria placed on the nutrient medium.....but not for long. We humans are REALLY crowding this petri dish called Earth, as best as I can tell.
John
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know well". unknown
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