Antarctic ozone hole nears record: U.N. agency (satellite photo)

[zonkers]

(Pic)- A computer model illustrates the largest ozone layer hole ever seen over Antartica, on September 6, 2000, in this undated file photo. Reuters/Ho

GENEVA (Reuters) - The hole over Antarctica's ozone layer is bigger than last year and is nearing the record 29-million-square-km (11-million-sq-mile) hole seen in 2000, the World Meteorological Organization said on Friday.

http://www.maconareaonline.com/news.asp?id=15153

[lonestarnot]

1. WoW!

[zonkers]

2. link works. photo at link.

[lonestarnot]

Worked on 3rd try thanks.

[jpak]

3. Holy Cow!!! It covers all of the Drake Passage and Terra del Fuego too

not good!!!!

[rodeodance]

4. this is another reason Bolton et al would like to get rid of the UN>

[nam78_two]

10. more bad news on the environmental front

what a surprise :-/

[rodeodance]

5. looks like a WH butt hole.

[mcscajun]

6. Punta Arenas, Chile already suffering for years under the "hole"

Nov. 03, 2000 | PUNTA ARENAS, Chile

(snip)

This port city of 120,000 people, at 53 degrees south latitude, has always been known more for its proximity to other places -- five hours from Patagonia's Torres del Paine, an hour from a penguin colony, a boat ride to Antarctica -- than as a destination in its own right. But as ground zero of a global ecological catastrophe, Punta Arenas is becoming famous, or infamous, as the city that has squatted directly under the gaping hole in the earth's ozone layer. What's happening down here on the edge of nowhere is an uncontrolled science experiment: exposing human beings in their natural habitat to long-term doses of potentially deadly ultraviolet radiation.

It may take years before the results are in, before we know the full toll in vision problems and skin cancers, illness and death. Until now the rest of the world has watched from afar, complacent in the conviction that it has largely addressed the problem. But it might be a good idea to pay closer attention to what happens down here, because scientists fear that -- in the future -- regions farther from the poles could be hit by a thinning of the ozone layer.

(snip)

Though scientists once thought they had a handle on the problem, the ozone hole reached its largest dimensions yet in September, stretching across an area of 11 million square miles -- a distance three times the size of the United States. And it has subsequently wandered all the way from its icy seasonal home of Antarctica to this port city. In Punta Arenas, according to local measurements, the residents are exposed to levels of UVB radiation 40 percent greater than normal when the ozone hole is above.

(snip)

UVB is known to affect the skin, eyes and immune system, but there is no immunologist in town. And the local health minister, Lidia Amarales, has been granted scarce resources -- just $30,000 a year from the regional government -- to educate people about the problem. "It is impossible to give the sun cream to everyone in Punta Arenas because it's expensive," says Amarales. "We have other priorities, like cancer, diabetes, hypertension, adolescent and mental health, and respiratory diseases."

(snip)

Since earlier this year, the projections have become, like the horoscope, a daily feature of the newspaper. On the last page, a picture of a traffic signal, with colors corresponding to the level of radiation for that day, from red (the worst) down to orange, then yellow, then green. There have been 13 red alerts so far this year. The radiation levels are collected by Claudio Casiccia, the harried geophysicist who single-handedly monitors the depletion levels from the rooftop of Punta Arenas' University of Magallanes. A red alert means that the radiation level is so high that it can cause some people's skin to burn within five minutes.

http://archive.salon.com/health/feature/2000/11/03/ozone/

[Gregorian]

7. It's all John Water's fault.

No one listened when they told us to stop using hairspray. Now look at us.



edit- Actually, I'm serious. We have not had the leadership that is willing to hear the truth, and then discuss the options. (And I'm not talking about Bush. Hell, even Nixon had his "68 degrees".) We got this blather about hairspray and R-12. Of course those contribute. But no barbeques in Los Angeles? We're talking background noise. Aw, forget it. To hell with limits. Let's all float away.

[Downtown Hound]

8. What the hell? I thought that was supposed to be disappearing.

At least that's what I kept reading.

[Ragin_mad]

9. Exactly

There was a story on here just a few weeks ago about how the hole was recovering and was less than 1/2 of it's record size. Someone is lying.

[zonkers]

11. link to OZONE IMPROVING article from Guardian Aug. 24th.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1856583,00.html

Efforts to stop the hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic from growing have worked, leading US scientists said today.

Two decades after research began, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the level of ozone-depleting gases was decreasing and it seemed the hole over the Antarctic had been stabilised.

David Hofmann, director of NOAA's global monitoring division, said: "We can say the patient isn't getting any sicker because the ozone hole isn't getting any deeper, any broader."

[sofa king]

12. There go my plans to escape to New Zealand.

The South Island of New Zealand is a great place--at this point, sometimes I think I'd rather be a citizen there than here.

But if I have to fish for giant salmon while wearing a UV suit, well, it suddenly becomes less attractive.

I'm sorry, my friendly Kiwis, for America's enormous contribution to this problem. And despite what I said above, if any Kiwi lass wants to marry me and make me a citizen, please drop me a line.

[zonkers]

13. Can't the whole world sue the U.S. for this horror?

[sofa king]

14. Not until I get the hell out of here!

Hurry, Kiwi women, or I'll be too broke to scrounge up airfare!

[stepnw1f]

15. This Extremely Disturbing.... (nt)

[zonkers]

17. I just realized, that pic I DL'd isn't even the updated one. The updated

one in article is even bigger. For some reason, I could not DL the pic in the article.

[stepnw1f]

20. So Instead of Shrinking It IS Getting Larger.....

We have been lied to again. I don't remember where I read that it was shrinking, but I'm pretty sure it was posted here on DU.... I must admit, I was a bit skeptical after reading about it. Now I'm more skeptical.... I do believe it is getting larger.

[upi402]

16. k/r And still the rightards blindly dismiss environmentalists n/t

[Odin2005]

18. WTF? Last I heard it was shrinking.

:wtf:

[Dead_Parrot]

19. Context...

Whilst this is a concern (especially since I live under the edge) The trend - such as it is - is still for an overall increase. This chart shows the problem nicely:



The Ozone measurements tend to swing around pretty wildly on a year-by year basis, and/or have huge error bars. I'm not to get into a funk over this any more than I would have broken out the champagne in '03...

We'll see what happens... Incidentally, I believe the US was the driving force behind the Montreal Protocol, so you're not all bad :)

[Caution]

21. This article is 6 years old . The ozone hole is shrinking

It is a great example of a man-made climate problem that is being corrected through good environmental policy.

[windbreeze]

23. The article is NOT 6 years old...just the picture is...

The article is dated Sept 23,2006...and the reason they used that particular picture was to demonstrate that the hole NOW showing is quickly approaching that size..(unless I can't read, that is)
wb

[samsingh]

22. i thought it was starting to rebuild