Climate of irrationality

The multilateral treaty to protect the ozone layer has been a successful environmental agreement. But an impasse over restricting the use of extremely potent greenhouse gases is set to mar the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Montreal Protocol on September 16.

Fig leaf for the business world

India is obliged under the Montreal Protocol to gradually stop the use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which cause unimaginable damage by burning a hole in the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer. The industrialised countries have already phased out some of these substances. The first deadline for India and other developing nations comes on January 1, 2010, when these countries are expected to entirely stop using CFCs.

Saving the Ozone

Try punching the air in front of you. Does it leave a hole? Surely not. But the ozone layer that exists in the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere just above us, does have a hole.

Science and Environment - Briefs

BIOLOGY Yellow pigment clue to evolution Bilirubin, responsible for the yellowish tinge in the skin, eyes and nails of jaundice patients, has for the first time been identified in plants. The pigment was discovered in Strelitzia reginae Aiton, commonly know as the Bird of Paradise plant. It is indigenous to South Africa and known for its orange and blue inflorescence.

The disturbing Ozone alert

Lungs, beware

People suffering from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been taking help from cfcs (chlorofluorocarbons), an ozone-depleting chemical, to breathe easier. cfc is used as a delivery agent, or propellant, in inhalers. But an international agreement signed in 1987 makes it mandatory to stop using cfc after

Ozone

Eco-thriller

Many today talk about crimes against nature in the same breath as arms and drug smuggling. The film, Ozone Killers, is about a problem that many believed was taken care of long time ago. It shows how wrong the assumption was. In 1987 the Montreal Protocol banned the production of cfcs (chlorofluorocarbons) for use as propellants and coolants. These chemicals are considered to be the main cause of the destruction of the protective ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere.

Highest in 650,000 years

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is at its highest since the past 650,000 years, says the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between 1979 and 2007, the level of CO2, the primary driver of climate change, increased at an average rate of 1.65 parts per million. The growth rate of methane, however, declined since 1992 due to change in emissions. Over the past 29 years, nitrous oxide emissions continue to increase steadily, while the chloro fluoro carbons (CFCs) have reached a plateau since 1992.

Recovery of depleted ozone layer may take longer than estimated

The recovery of the depleted ozone layer may take 5-15 years more than that estimated earlier, says a recent study. It found that the regeneration of the protective layer will be pushed back from 2044 to 2049 over the mid-latitudes (30 0 -60 0 North and South) and from 2050 to 2065 over Antarctica. The World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency, and the United Nations Environment Programme conducted the study with the help of 250 scientists from all over the world. The same group had conducted the earlier assessment in 2002.