🚀 go-pugleaf

Good news from Antarctica: The hole in the ozone layer is 
shrinking, new measurements reveal.

Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. It's relatively 
highly concentrated in a particular layer of the stratosphere 
about 12 miles to 19 miles above Earth's surface. This ozone 
layer prevents ultraviolet light from reaching Earth's surface � 
a good thing, given that UV light causes sunburn and skin cancer.

Ever since the early 1980s, though, a hole in this layer has 
developed over Antarctica during September to November, 
decreasing ozone concentration by as much as 70 percent. The 
cause is human-produced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were 
once heavily used in aerosols and refrigeration.

By international agreement, CFCs have been phased out of use. 
The policy has real effects, new satellite observations reveal. 
In 2012, the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was smaller 
than it has ever been in the last 10 years.

The new observations, announced by the European Space Agency 
(ESA) on Feb. 8, come from Europe's Met Op weather satellite, 
which has an instrument specifically designed to sense ozone 
concentrations. The findings suggest that the phase-out of CFCs 
is working, the ESA reports.

Antarctica is particularly vulnerable to ozone-depleting 
substances, because high winds cause a vortex of cold air to 
circulate over the continent. In the resulting frigid 
temperatures, CFCs are especially effective at depleting ozone. 
The result is that people in the Southern Hemisphere are at 
increased risk of exposure from UV radiation.

CFCs persist in the atmosphere for a long time, so it may take 
until the middle of the century for ozone concentrations to 
rebound to 1960s levels, the ESA reports. However, the hole in 
the ozone over Antarctica should completely close in the next 
few decades.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/12/ozone-hole-shrinks-to-
record-low/?intcmp=obinsite

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Are you obligated as an armed civilian, to defend unarmed 
liberals while you are both under fire by foreign agents of the 
outlaw Obama administration?

No.  Shoot the liberals immediately so they can't stab you in 
the back while you are defending yourself, then return a 
controlled rate of aimed fire.  ��

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