Scientists discover China has been secretly emitting banned ozone-depleting gas

[OnlinePoker]

Source: National Post

A chemical banned around the globe for the last 30 years has made an unfortunate resurgence. And all signs, in a new study, point to China as the culprit.

In the 1980s, countries came together to sign The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, a landmark treaty designed to halt and reduce the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), chemicals used in fridges and foams that had the side effect of tearing through the Earth’s ozone layer.

The Montreal Protocol has been signed by 197 countries around the world, including Canada, the U.S., and China. As the ozone layer in our upper atmosphere slowly depleted — letting in an increasing amount of the sun’s ultraviolet rays — the protocol contributed to a significant reduction in harmful CFCs, which then allowed for a slow healing of the damaged ozone layer.

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/world/scientists-discover-china-has-been-secretly-emitting-banned-ozone-depleting-gas

[groundloop]

1. Here's a good article from BBC (July of last year) with more information

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952


Most of the Freon 11 is being used by Chinese manufacturers of insulated foam (but they're not the ones producing the banned Freon 11).

[Firestorm49]

2. Oh no! I'm shocked!

[Sherman A1]

8. Same here

No surprise.

[keithbvadu2]

3. Are they operating under the Trump EPA?

Are they operating under the Trump EPA?

Sarcasm?

[Jedi Guy]

4. Same attitudes in both groups.

They don't give a rat's ass if what they're doing wrecks the planet. All they care about is making money now and using that money to live like kings. So what if the little people suffer now? So what if people in the future suffer? It's their fault for not being titans of industry, or whatever.

Shortsighted greed and apathy are quite likely going to be the doom of our species and/or our current society.

[keithbvadu2]

5. Movie 'Matrix' - virus scene

Movie 'Matrix' - virus scene

[Jedi Guy]

6. A great scene in a great film, with great actors. Weaving is fantastic.

All that aside, though, it's damned hard to argue with his logic, isn't it?

[Nay]

11. China is a rapacious capitalist country with zero morals about the ways they accumulate cash.

Remember melamine in pet food, which killed thousands of pets?

Lead paint on Mattel toys?

Monster toothpaste recall after Chinese-made toothpaste was found to contain antifreeze?

Chinese drywall, which was used in at least 100,000 homes, and offgassed so many poisonous fumes that it corroded copper pipes and caused tens of thousands of people to have breathing issues?

Trump and his lackeys ADMIRE China for being like this.

[gay texan]

7. I'm surprised that there isn't black market

R-12 from these guys...

(For those of you who dont know what R-12 was, it was old school CFC automotive refrigerant used through the 1950's through the mid 90's in car A/C systems. )

[oldsoftie]

10. And R22 isnt cheap anymore either. Its a shame how we've been had on some of this.

I deal with rental units. Since we've started having to use the "better, more efficient" units i've seen many more service calls than 20 yrs ago. I've seen old style units last 30-35 years; working well. These new units blow start caps (made differently from the past) and HOPEFULLY these units will last 10 yrs. So where's the savings? You spend several thousand on a new unit 50% quicker than you would have before, so there goes all the savings on electric you had.

[hunter]

13. The old style units were horrible in every way.

They wasted electricity, electricity that was generated in coal fired power plants, and when they had minuscule leaks of ozone-layer-destroying refrigerants, service people simply topped them up with more refrigerant because that was the cheapest, easiest thing to do. The same thing happened in cars. At the beginning of summer tons of refrigerant was sold to top up systems with very slow, hard to find, leaks.

Upgrades to air conditioning ought to involve more than simply replacing a unit with a newer one of similar capacity. You have to ask where the heat pumped out of a house or apartment is coming from. Is it leaking in from outside? Is it coming from inefficient incandescent lighting? Are the bathrooms not properly vented when the showers are running? Are the refrigerators efficient? It all adds up.

I know detailed analysis of the problem and remediation may be beyond the reach of smaller landlords, but there's no excuse for larger rental operations not to do it. What gets charged in rent will be saved in utility costs, less carbon dioxide and toxic shit will be dumped into the environment, and the world will be a better place.

Yep, bad motor start capacitors have been a problem. In the 21st century a similar problem exists with the electronic inverters that now drive motors in air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, etc., or feed solar power back into the grid. Some of those inverters are as crappy as the old-tech big capacitor-and-inductor technology they've replaced.

I was at first skeptical of inverters in washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners, but I'm not any more.

[oldsoftie]

9. Well no shit. China will do what China wants. Meanwhile, the US keeps reducing its emissions.

And India isnt far behind China. And as long as they do what they do, any "deal" on climate change will ultimately fail.

Its just like the plastic waste in the ocean. The US & the EU have moved forward by leaps & bounds to reduce plastic waste & especially waste that reaches the oceans.
But 90% of the ocean waste comes from just 10 rivers; all in Asia and Africa.

[The Mouth]

12. But *MY* driving and someday trip to Europe are the problem

[hunter]

14. Yes, they are.

There are too many people on earth for everyone to own a car or fly around burning fossil fuels for fun.

That's a problem we'll have to deal with, and there are alternatives.

[Mosby]

15. +1