ozone hole

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UN: Slowly but Surely, Ozone Layer Is Healing

It will be back to normal over the Arctic by 2045, quadrennial report says

(Newser) - Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. A once-every-four-years scientific assessment found recovery in progress, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed...

Cheap Chinese Insulation May Answer Ozone Mystery

Banned chemical still in wide use, says new report

(Newser) - Earlier this year, scientists could not figure out why an illegal, ozone-killing chemical had suddenly resurfaced in a big way. Now, a report released Monday by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency has identified the culprit: cheap insulation made in China. The EIA found that lots of Chinese manufacturers are adding...

Scientists 'Astounded' by Mysterious Rise in Banned Chemical

Source of CFC-11 is somewhere in East Asia

(Newser) - More than 30 years ago, world governments dealt with an alarming hole in the ozone layer with the Montreal Protocol, which banned damaging chemicals including the chlorofluorocarbon CFC-11. But it looks like somebody failed to get the memo. Scientists say they've detected a mysterious rise in emissions of the...

The Ozone Hole Is Nearing Record Size

It's now larger than the entirety of North America

(Newser) - Scientists who assumed the infamous ozone hole over Antarctica was steadily shrinking received an unpleasant surprise last month: The hole is approaching a size unseen in nine years, Popular Science reports. According to Live Science , in October researchers at the German Aerospace Center recorded the size of the hole in...

UN: Ozone Is Bouncing Back
 UN: Ozone Is 
 Bouncing Back 

UN: Ozone Is Bouncing Back

Layer is showing first signs of recovery

(Newser) - An environment story without warnings of impending doom : The ozone layer that blocks cancer-causing rays from the sun is finally starting to recover thanks to global action, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program. While it will probably take until the middle of this century...

Ozone Hole Smallest It's Been in a Decade

Chlorofluorocarbon ban appears to be improving Earth's ozone

(Newser) - One of the most infamous symbols of man's assault on the planet is actually diminishing: The ozone hole over Antarctica was smaller in 2012 than it has been in 10 years, reports LiveScience . Scientists credit the improvement to the worldwide ban on chlorofluorocarbons, which cause the hole to appear...

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