RJT> Not illegal as far a I know,  just absurdly expensive!
 
 JB> Illegal to manufacture, and geating rare, which is why.
 JB> An auto air-con mechanic nearhere puts out a sign when he has some
 JB> in stock (probablky used)
 
 RJT> You being where you are,  it makes me wonder -- illegal to
 RJT> manufacture _there_?  How about importing it?
 
 WC> Illegal to manufacture here 

 RJT> Is it?  There are still people who sell it,  and it's even still
 RJT> available at some auto parts stores,  although in larger containers
 RJT> than any consumer would want to have on hand,  and for really high
 RJT> prices. 

	Recycling of previously manufactured CFC-12.  Supply diminishing,
demand not diminishing as fast--simple economics.

 
 WC> I thought it was because it drifted into the ozone layer where it 
 WC> worked as a catalyst to break down the protective ozone layer.

 RJT> I understand that this is the rationale that's been given in some
 RJT> cases,  but it makes no sense to me why the "ozone hole" that was
 RJT> reported should only show up over the south pole.  Nor is it

	Make that *first* showed up over the south pole.  It's showed
up over the north pole as well.  If your sources are recent and have
not mentioned this, those sources should be regarded as incomplete
at the very best.
	Now, why *first* over the south pole?  The stratosphere is
more well mixed than the troposphere (the lowest portion of the
atmosphere).  The South pole in the stratosphere (as well as the
troposphere) is the coldest spot in the world during its winter
(six hours of night at the pole).  There is also the circumpolar
atmospheric vortex.  This promotes the formation of
stratospheric clouds that also promote the CFC-caused destruction 
of ozone.  (I'll spare you the atmospheric chemistry details.)
This was worked out over a decade ago (e.g., _Polar Stratospheric
Clouds and Ozone Depletion_, Owen B. Toon and Richard P. Turco,
_Scientific American_, June 1991, pp. 68-74 for more details).
  
 RJT> conclusive that flourocarbons were the cause of it,  and that it
 RJT> didn't to some degree occur naturally.  The first reports of that

	It was demonstrated in the lab in the early or mid '70s that
CFCs would have this effect.
	Records of the amount of UV hitting the earth's surface (a
proxy for amount of stratospheric ozone) have been kept for over a
century.  They do show blips caused by natural phenomena (the
Tungusaka event, an occasional type of volcanic eruption if especially
violent), but they've been short-lived:  a year or two.  In contrast,
there's been a pretty steady and increasing level of UV noted since
the late '70s, which tracks pretty exactly directly observed declines
in stratospheric ozone, and which has persisted.  Note well that the
late '70s matches well with the prediction of when large quantities
of CFCs would be making their way up into the stratosphere.

 RJT> were grabbed by the eco-freaks and used as a rationale,  but the
 RJT> study of that stuff isn't over yet. 
 
	It's been going on for over two decades.  I really can't
think of any further type of confirmation that could be made or would
be needed.

 WC> The loss of the ozone layer is a demonstrated fact 

 RJT> Fluctuation in it may be,  but "loss"?  I'm not so sure of that.

	Luckily, stratospheric ozone is regenerated by the same UV
that it lets through, so once CFCs stop migrating upward into the
atmospher and eventually are at last destroyed, it may be back to
normal around mid-century.  So the loss isn't permanent.  But during
the height of the Antarctic winter 70% or more is destroyed, and the
Antarctic stratosphere has about 3% of the world's ozone, so there's
been a pretty significant and steady decline over the years. 
 
 WC> and clorine liberated by photochemical reactions with 
 WC> flourocarbons is an acknowledged cause of that destruction.

 RJT> Ok,  what's your source for this info?

	This has been in the mainstream science top-flight science
journals (_Science_, _Nature_, _Scientific American_, etc.) for
*decades*, Roy.  But then the likes of Rush Limbaugh aren't going to
tell you that.

 


--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]