WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Earth's protective ozone layer, which was notably thinning in 1980, may be fully recovered by mid-century, climate scientists said on Wednesday.

Ozone in the stratosphere, outside the polar regions, stopped thinning in 1997, the scientists found after analyzing 25 years worth of observations.

The ozone layer shields the planet from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, but human-made chemicals -- notably the chlorofluorocarbons found in some refrigerants and aerosol propellants -- depleted this stratospheric ozone, causing the protective layer to get thinner.

The scientists said the ozone layer's comeback is due in large part to compliance with an 1987 international agreement called the Montreal Protocol, which aimed to limit emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals.

"These results confirm the Montreal Protocol and its amendments have succeeded in stopping the loss of ozone in the stratosphere," said Eun-Su Yang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led a team that analyzed the data.

"At the current recovery rate ... the global ozone layer could be restored to 1980 levels -- the time that scientists first noticed the harmful effects human activities were having on atmospheric ozone -- sometime in the middle of this century," Yang said in a statement.

While ozone is a beneficial shield in the stratosphere, some six to 31 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone encountered at ground level can be damaging to lung tissue and plants and is a major component of smog.

The analysis was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres.

Researchers from
NASA and other agencies reported in June that the so-called ozone hole over Antarctica would recover by around 2068, which is some 20 years later than previously expected.

The Antarctic ozone hole is a massive loss of ozone that occurs each spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

A similar, though smaller and less severe, ozone hole has been reported in the Arctic.




CAPTAIN PLANET 1 CAPTAIN POLLUTION 50

Bloody long time never blog.

Actually i really wanted to quit this blogging thingy but due to influence from Winsor and Benny, I must re-blog to show off my life to others. Yay for publicity. Yay for the beng next fucking door!

Education in fucking TP is getting from bad to worse. Ennui you see. Nothing to do, nothing to see, nothing to touch, nothing to fuck. Will get bloody bored. What saves me is my more and more frequent trip to our clean and green neighbour Bedok Reservoir to get my daily intake of menthol, tar, nicotine and cancer. Yay for an early death! Anyone want to send a message to Jesus or Buddha or whatever God you pray to? If yes please sms your message to 1800-FuckYou for your personalised message of salvation! Yay.

Shit is really getting worse and worse. On the National Day our Lord the great Lee Hsien Loong(May the Gods bless his soul) said something about mee siam mai hum. Eh good sir. Mee siam no hum la. I tell you next parliamentary debate the first bill on the List shall be enacting an ordinance that makes it mandatory for Mee Siam to have hum. If don't have will have fine of $1000/- bucks, maximum 2 months imprisonment and kena rattan 24 strokes. Then great Lee Hsien Loong will claim that he inherited clairvoryant powers from his father's side(Guess who! Not going to name him. The internet has ears.) and he could prophesise that mee siam will have hum. Then everyone will cheer, and next day we will have to wake up on 5 o clock in the morning every bloody day to pray to the Prophets Lee. Too bad for the jews who wanted to eat mee siam.

I must seriously get a smoke soon or I will post all the seditive shit on the net and get sued. I must smoke Lucky Strikes. I must smoke Lucky Strikes. I must.....