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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=ozone-layer&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/ozone-layer/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2026 21:22:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Ozone Layer</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/ozone-layer/</link>
	<width>32</width>
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				<item>
					<title>Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2026 19:26:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/11174825/Image_5_NHQ202602130016orig-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315584</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Chemicals, Climate Change, Conservation, data, Data centers, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Governance, Ozone Layer, Politics, Pollution, Remote Sensing, Research, Space, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plans are afoot to launch large mega-constellations of AI data centers into Earth orbit. That ambition, pursued by multiple space industry leaders, coincides with a warning from scientists of potentially “catastrophic outcomes,” as the likelihood of satellite collisions in orbit increases. If all the satellites currently in low Earth orbit were suddenly unable to maneuver [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plans are afoot to launch large mega-constellations of AI data centers into Earth orbit. That ambition, pursued by multiple space industry leaders, coincides with a warning from scientists of potentially “catastrophic outcomes,” as the likelihood of satellite collisions in orbit increases. If all the satellites currently in low Earth orbit were suddenly unable to maneuver to avoid each other — a problem that could be triggered by a massive solar storm — then a potentially catastrophic collision would likely occur in just under four days, researchers say. That’s the latest finding from the CRASH Clock, a tool developed to monitor the timeframe during which a low Earth orbit satellite collision is likely to happen during a major solar event. Such events are difficult to predict and come with limited warning; solar activity peaks roughly every 11 years. The CRASH Clock assesses the sustainability of space operations, explains Sarah Thiele, first author on the paper and a Ph.D. student at Princeton University. “The paper demonstrates how reliant we are on the continuous successful active management of satellites in orbit, and how the margin for error in these operations is decreasing over time,” she writes in an email to Mongabay. In 2018, the CRASH estimate stood at a comfortable 164 days. But that margin of safety shrank rapidly as the proliferation of satellites surged, and was shortened to 5.5 days by June 2025, while a calculation using orbital data from January 2026 cut it to 3.8 days. “This just shows how reliant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315584</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Commercial space race comes with multiple planetary health risks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/commercial-space-race-comes-with-multiple-planetary-health-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/commercial-space-race-comes-with-multiple-planetary-health-risks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jul 2025 13:27:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/22074720/Image_1-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302922</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Conservation, data, Deforestation, Development, E-waste, Environment, Globalization, Ozone Layer, Planetary Boundaries, Politics, Pollution, Remote Sensing, Research, Science, Space, Technology, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The skies overhead are already teeming with satellites. But their orbiting numbers will skyrocket in the near future as the commercial and international space race takes off. Three projects alone — SpaceX’s Starlink, China’s Guowang megaconstellation, and Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system — will launch tens of thousands of new satellites. Today’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The skies overhead are already teeming with satellites. But their orbiting numbers will skyrocket in the near future as the commercial and international space race takes off. Three projects alone — SpaceX’s Starlink, China’s Guowang megaconstellation, and Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system — will launch tens of thousands of new satellites. Today’s 12,000 satellites could, according to some estimates, grow to 60,000, or even 100,000 total satellites by 2030, as a space industry already worth hundreds of billions of dollars sees rapid growth. This 21st-century space race, while a boon for communications and Earth monitoring, is sending up a red flag with experts, who warn that the tech advances satellite may bring are linked to a growing number of Earth environmental impacts stretching from the industry’s supply chain here on Earth, into the upper atmosphere and out into space itself. With countries initiating or expanding their space programs (including the U.S., EU, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates), and commercial efforts all in full swing, “we&#8217;re moving towards an industry that could cause a lot of damage to the environment if we don&#8217;t regulate it or understand it,” now, says Eloise Marais, an atmospheric chemist at University College London, U.K. The industry’s toll stretches from its ground-based, energy-guzzling data centers, to metal-shedding rocket launches, to tons of orbiting space junk and debris regularly plummeting back to Earth. Among the risks are poorly understood space age atmospheric pollutants that could harm the ozone&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/commercial-space-race-comes-with-multiple-planetary-health-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/commercial-space-race-comes-with-multiple-planetary-health-risks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302922</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ground-level ozone pollution poses growing threat to planetary health</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ground-level-ozone-pollution-poses-growing-threat-to-planetary-health/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ground-level-ozone-pollution-poses-growing-threat-to-planetary-health/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Apr 2025 15:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/02110718/10-B-A-N-A-N-A-S-Uganda-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296897</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Bioenergy, Climate Change, Climate Science, Crops, Earth Science, Fires, forest degradation, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Health, Heatwave, Mitigation, Ozone Layer, Planetary Health, Politics, Pollution, Precipitation, Public Health, Science, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the ozone layer protects humanity and all life from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. But in the troposphere, at ground level, this gas can wreak havoc on planetary health in myriad ways. As temperatures increase due to climate change, the ozone problem is forecast to worsen in many parts of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the ozone layer protects humanity and all life from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. But in the troposphere, at ground level, this gas can wreak havoc on planetary health in myriad ways. As temperatures increase due to climate change, the ozone problem is forecast to worsen in many parts of the world — including heavily populated urban and rural areas in the tropics. Ground-level zone isn’t a direct emission; it’s created when precursors such as methane, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds react together with sunlight. These precursors include many anthropogenic sources — especially the burning of fossil fuels (in vehicles, by industry and at power plants) and via agriculture and wildfires, all of which crank up tropospheric ozone levels. “The problem with ozone is it&#8217;s an incredibly active molecule and somewhat unstable in the environment. It interacts with everything it touches,” Nathan Borgford-Parnell, coordinator of the Scientific Advisory Panel and Science Affairs at the Climate &amp; Clean Air Coalition, told Mongabay in an interview. That makes tropospheric ozone a planetary health problem that threatens human health, food security and biodiversity. “The concerns are quite legion,” says Borgford-Parnell. Ground-level ozone pollution is getting worse due to what experts have dubbed the “ozone-climate penalty.” Though ozone’s formation is complex, it is closely tied to higher temperatures. That’s why the problem generally peaks in warmer months; which was true in 2024 — officially the hottest year on record, with ozone pollution spiking during European summer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ground-level-ozone-pollution-poses-growing-threat-to-planetary-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ground-level-ozone-pollution-poses-growing-threat-to-planetary-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296897</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Efforts to dim Sun and cool Earth must be blocked, say scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/efforts-to-dim-sun-and-cool-earth-must-be-blocked-say-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/efforts-to-dim-sun-and-cool-earth-must-be-blocked-say-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2022 16:19:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/24160514/2-BANNER-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251938</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate Change, Climate Science, Drought, Earth Science, Forests, Geoengineering, Global Warming, Mitigation, Ocean Acidification, Oceans, Ozone Layer, Politics, Pollution, Precipitation, Science, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Initiatives to inject billions of aerosol particles into the stratosphere to deflect solar rays and cool Earth are too risky to go forward; governments must act fast to rein in potentially disastrous planetary-scale solar geoengineering, say critics.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Blocking the sun’s rays with an artificial particle shield launched high into Earth’s atmosphere to curb global temperatures is a technological fix gaining traction as a last resort for containing the climate crisis — but it needs to be stopped, wrote a coalition of over 60 academics in an open letter and article released in the WIREs (Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews) Climate Change online publication on January 17. “Some things we should just restrict at the outset,” said one of the open letter&#8217;s lead authors, Aarti Gupta, a professor of Global Environmental Governance at Wageningen University. Gupta placed solar geoengineering in the category of high-risk technologies, like human cloning and chemical weapons, that need to be off-limits. “It might be possible to do, but it’s too risky,” she told Mongabay in an interview. The color of the sky could change. The chemical composition of the ozone layer and oceans may be permanently altered. Photosynthesis, which depends on sunlight, may slow down, possibly harming biodiversity and agriculture. And global weather patterns could change unpredictably. Despite the potential dangers, no mechanism exists today to stop an individual, company or country from launching a solo mission, said Gupta. To prevent this, the open letter suggests five urgent protective measures: no outdoor experiments, no implementation, no patents, no public funding, and no support from international institutions such as the United Nations. The 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in the Philippines threw enough sulfate and other aerosol particles into the stratosphere to cool the Earth. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/efforts-to-dim-sun-and-cool-earth-must-be-blocked-say-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/efforts-to-dim-sun-and-cool-earth-must-be-blocked-say-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-251938</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In saving the ozone layer, we avoided even more intense global warming</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/in-saving-the-ozone-layer-we-avoided-even-more-intense-global-warming/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/in-saving-the-ozone-layer-we-avoided-even-more-intense-global-warming/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2021 15:21:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/19151704/6264414032_94728aa77e_c-768x485.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=246165</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mitigation, Ozone Layer, Pollution, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As bad as the climate crisis now unfolding appears to be, things could have been even worse, with the world a much less hospitable place for human life. What has kept things from getting that bad, a new study suggests, is a rare moment of collective action when the world came together to do right [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As bad as the climate crisis now unfolding appears to be, things could have been even worse, with the world a much less hospitable place for human life. What has kept things from getting that bad, a new study suggests, is a rare moment of collective action when the world came together to do right by the planet: the Montreal Protocol. Signed in 1987, the Montreal Protocol is best known as the agreement that got the world to stop using chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, the thin shield that keeps out the most harmful ultraviolet rays. But besides averting perhaps millions of excess deaths from skin cancer, the protocol has helped combat climate change by keeping global warming in check, the study published in Nature found. The main culprits that damage the planet’s ozone layer, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are also potent greenhouse gases. Starting in the 1960s, CFCs came into widespread use in refrigeration and air-conditioning. Without the Montreal Protocol to get rid of these gases, the intensified UV radiation would have damaged plants and reduced their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide by as much as 690 billion metric tons by the end of this century, according to the analysis. In the grimmest scenario, that would mean an additional 1° Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit) of warming. Sunlight is building block of life, but too much radiation is dangerous for life on Earth. Overexposure to it can cause health problems in humans from sunburns to more severe conditions like cataracts and cancers. Plants that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/in-saving-the-ozone-layer-we-avoided-even-more-intense-global-warming/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-246165</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ever-evolving Montreal Protocol a model for environmental treaties</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/ever-evolving-montreal-protocol-a-model-for-environmental-treaties/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/ever-evolving-montreal-protocol-a-model-for-environmental-treaties/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2021 16:48:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jane Palmer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/12163452/BANNER-IMAGE-Kigali-768x446.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=242566</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Earth Science, Environment, Global Warming, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mitigation, Ozone Layer, Politics, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Created in 1987, the pathbreaking treaty not only phased down scores of ozone depleting chemicals and is helping heal the ozone hole — it also offers a flexible, regularly updating example for future environmental treaties.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the early 1970s, scientists first discovered that chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), coolants used in refrigeration and foam production, had the potential to destroy ozone in the upper atmosphere, with devastating consequences. The ozone layer acts as a shield to protect life on Earth from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet radiation. Then in 1985, accumulating scientific research and the first evidence of a widening ozone hole over Antarctica, galvanized the world’s nations. Their delegates came together in 1987 to create the Montreal Protocol, a binding international environmental treaty regulating the production and use of manufactured chemicals damaging to Earth’s ozone layer. Since then, nearly 200 countries have signed on and some 100 chemicals have been phased out or phased down. When scientists realized in 2016 that the latest generation of refrigerants, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), while safe for the ozone layer, were very powerful greenhouse gases, the UN parties added the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Under this agreement, which came into force in 2019, signatories will phase down the production and consumption of HFCs, creating the potential to avoid up to 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century. “If we achieve that, then it will be a great contribution to protecting the climate,” says Megumi Seki, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Seki’s work on ozone layer issues started in 1988, and she was one of the staff members of the Ozone Secretariat when it was formally established&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/ever-evolving-montreal-protocol-a-model-for-environmental-treaties/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/ever-evolving-montreal-protocol-a-model-for-environmental-treaties/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-242566</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The HFC challenge: Can the Montreal Protocol continue its winning streak?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/the-hfc-challenge-can-the-montreal-protocol-continue-its-winning-streak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/the-hfc-challenge-can-the-montreal-protocol-continue-its-winning-streak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 May 2021 12:55:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jane Palmer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/04150548/BANNER-IMAGE-1210-1-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=242304</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica, Colorado, European Union, Global, North America, and Switzerland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Earth Science, Environment, Global Warming, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mitigation, Ozone Layer, Politics, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Some 100 ozone-depleting CFCs and HCFCs are being phased out by the landmark treaty, but can this evolving accord now save Earth from the HFCs — one of which is a greenhouse gas 12,700 more potent than carbon dioxide.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1987, a one-seat, one-pilot, “Gary Powers [style] spy plane,” loaded with sophisticated scientific instruments screamed into the lower stratosphere above Antarctica at 200 meters per second. Its mission: determine the cause of a mysterious ozone hole in Earth’s atmosphere. “Basically, the story got told right there — almost immediately,” recalls David Fahey, an atmospheric chemist with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), stationed in Boulder, Colorado. He was one of the scientists who worked through that night analyzing the data. The team’s landmark findings confirmed that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), ubiquitous coolants used for decades as refrigerants and in foam production, were the culprits behind Earth’s thinning ozone layer. Spurred on by accumulating scientific evidence, the world’s nations had crafted the 1987 United Nations Montreal Protocol to control the production and consumption of ozone-depleting chemicals. Since then, 197 countries and the European Union have ratified the binding treaty, and CFC levels have steadily declined in the atmosphere. In September 2019, the ozone hole was the smallest it had been since 1982 — marking a triumph for science and global diplomacy. “The Montreal Protocol is the most successful international treaty on the environment of all time,” says Neil Harris, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Cranfield, U.K. “It is working fully, and it continues to work.” But success didn’t come without tremendous labor on the part of industry and nations — along with diligent monitoring by scientists, acting something like traffic cops with radar guns, measuring trace gases, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/the-hfc-challenge-can-the-montreal-protocol-continue-its-winning-streak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/the-hfc-challenge-can-the-montreal-protocol-continue-its-winning-streak/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-242304</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The nine boundaries humanity must respect to keep the planet habitable</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/the-nine-boundaries-humanity-must-respect-to-keep-the-planet-habitable/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/the-nine-boundaries-humanity-must-respect-to-keep-the-planet-habitable/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Mar 2021 14:06:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Asher]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/29193648/BANNER-IMAGE-Arctic-ice-768x455.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=241050</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Antarctica, Arctic, Global, and Greenland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Chemicals, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Extinction, Farming, Food, Forests, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Globalization, Governance, Green, International Trade, Land Use Change, Mitigation, Nitrogen Cycle, Nutrient Pollution, Ocean Acidification, Ozone Layer, Politics, Pollution, Research, Sustainability, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than a decade after the Planetary Boundaries framework was first proposed by top scientists, we are no closer to changing our destructive trajectory — but 2021 gives us three opportunities to act.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Advanced human societies emerged during an unprecedented period of stability on Earth. During the 12,000 years prior to the Industrial Revolution, our planet’s surface temperature varied by less than 1° Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit) above or below the average for that entire period. As a result, life — both human and wild — thrived. But over the past two centuries, humanity has dramatically increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, pushing us outside this “safe” climate zone; outside the conditions for which civilization has been designed. Unfortunately for us, climate change represents just one of nine critical planetary boundaries, which the imprudent actions of our species risk dangerously destabilizing and overshooting. The nine planetary boundaries, counterclockwise from top: climate change, biosphere integrity (functional and genetic), land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus), ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion, and release of novel chemicals (including heavy metals, radioactive materials, plastics, and more). Image courtesy of J. Lokrantz/Azote based on Steffen et al. 2015 (via Stockholm Resilience Centre). A safe operating space for humanity In the mid-2000s, Johan Rockström, founding director of Sweden’s Stockholm Resilience Centre, gathered an international, interdisciplinary team of scientists to unite behind a single goal: define the boundaries for a “safe operating space for humanity” on Earth. They asked themselves: what are the safe operating limits of our planet, and what changes can we force on it before we trigger rapid, catastrophic environmental harm? In 2009, the center published the Planetary Boundaries Framework, which outlined&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/the-nine-boundaries-humanity-must-respect-to-keep-the-planet-habitable/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/the-nine-boundaries-humanity-must-respect-to-keep-the-planet-habitable/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-241050</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oceans helped absorb our CFCs. They’re now going to emit them back out</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/oceans-helped-absorb-our-cfcs-theyre-now-going-to-emit-them-back-out/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/oceans-helped-absorb-our-cfcs-theyre-now-going-to-emit-them-back-out/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Mar 2021 15:57:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/22092632/indonesia_komodo_uw_171392-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240769</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Climate, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Policy, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Ozone Layer, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1987, world leaders signed the Montreal Protocol in an attempt to curb the amount of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other harmful chemicals being released into the atmosphere, which have been linked to the depletion of the life-preserving ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere. Overall, the agreement seems to be working. While CFC emissions peaked in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1987, world leaders signed the Montreal Protocol in an attempt to curb the amount of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other harmful chemicals being released into the atmosphere, which have been linked to the depletion of the life-preserving ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere. Overall, the agreement seems to be working. While CFC emissions peaked in the late 1980s, levels have mostly been going down, and research has shown that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is slowly recovering. But a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science suggests that the ocean will soon become a source of CFC-11, one of the primary chemicals responsible for ozone depletion. Right now, the ocean primarily acts as a repository for CFCs, drawing these water-soluble chemicals — once used in refrigerants, insulation and aerosol cans — from the atmosphere and sequestering them in the deep sea. But that will change in about 50 years, according to the study. Around 2075, there will be a “reverse flux” of CFCs from the ocean into the atmosphere, says lead author Peidong Wang. Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica. Image by Rhett A. Butler. “There&#8217;s always been equilibrium between the atmosphere and ocean,” Wang, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, told Mongabay in an interview. “When [CFC] emissions go down, the concentration in the atmosphere also goes down. And when the concentration in the ocean is higher than the concentration in the atmosphere, [CFCs]&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/oceans-helped-absorb-our-cfcs-theyre-now-going-to-emit-them-back-out/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240769</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>We have turned the Amazon into a net greenhouse gas emitter: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/we-have-turned-the-amazon-into-a-net-greenhouse-gas-emitter-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/we-have-turned-the-amazon-into-a-net-greenhouse-gas-emitter-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2021 15:59:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/25200307/GP0STTSE7_greenpeace_amazon_fires_2019-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240740</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Black Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drought, Environment, Fires, Forest Destruction, Forests, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone Layer, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Research, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Something is wrong in the lungs of the world. Decades of burning, logging, mining and development have tipped the scales, and now the Amazon Basin may be emitting more greenhouse gases than it absorbs. Most of the conversation about climate change is dominated by carbon dioxide. While CO2 plays a critical role in the complex [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Something is wrong in the lungs of the world. Decades of burning, logging, mining and development have tipped the scales, and now the Amazon Basin may be emitting more greenhouse gases than it absorbs. Most of the conversation about climate change is dominated by carbon dioxide. While CO2 plays a critical role in the complex climate equation, other forces such as methane, nitrous oxide, aerosols and black carbon are also factors. In a first-of-its-kind effort, a group of 31 scientists calculated the balance of all natural and human-caused greenhouse gases coming in and out of the massive Amazon Basin. The team concluded that warming of the atmosphere from agents other than CO2 likely exceeds the climate benefits the Amazon provides via CO2 uptake. Or more simply: due to humans, the Amazon Basin is now a net greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. “I would highlight that that natural greenhouse emissions from ecosystems aren’t causing climate change,” the study’s lead author, Kristofer Covey, an assistant professor at Skidmore College told Mongabay. “It’s the many human disturbances underway in the basin that are contributing to climate change.” Fire next to the borders of the Kaxarari Indigenous Land, in Lábrea, Amazonas state. Fires n the Amazon are caused by humans, typically set to clear forests for agriculture. Taken 17 Aug, 2020. CREDIT: © Christian Braga / Greenpeace. Earth receives constant energy from the sun. Climate-forcing factors in the atmosphere, such as greenhouse gases, act like a blanket, trapping that heat energy on Earth. When there’s more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/we-have-turned-the-amazon-into-a-net-greenhouse-gas-emitter-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240740</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The ozone layer is still getting thinner, new study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/the-ozone-layer-is-still-getting-thinner-new-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/the-ozone-layer-is-still-getting-thinner-new-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2018 07:59:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/02/12070305/Ultraviolet_image_of_the_Cygnus_Loop_Nebula_crop-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=203690</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Chemicals, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Industry, Mass Extinction, Ozone Layer, Plants, Research, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The specter of an environmental problem once thought to have been solved has risen again. A new study published Feb. 6 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics reports that the ozone layer might still be thinning, despite efforts to halt the use of the human-made chemicals thought to be responsible. That’s not to say [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The specter of an environmental problem once thought to have been solved has risen again. A new study published Feb. 6 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics reports that the ozone layer might still be thinning, despite efforts to halt the use of the human-made chemicals thought to be responsible. That’s not to say that the Montreal Protocol hasn’t been effective. The 1989 agreement banned the use of chemicals such as chlorine-containing chlorofluorocarbons and similar compounds used to cool air in refrigerators and air conditioners, and soon after, there was evidence that the ozone layer was on the mend. “Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, ozone in the upper stratosphere” — above 30 kilometers (19 miles — “has increased significantly since 1998, and the stratosphere is also recovering above the polar regions,” William Ball, an atmospheric researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and the study’s lead author, said in a statement. Detail of naturally aborted ovulate cone at end of growth season from control (non-irradiated) healthy pine. Another recent study has found that radiation, allowed into the atmosphere by a thinning ozone layer, may sterilize trees. Photo and caption by Jeff Benca/University of California, Berkeley. Most scientists figured that the ozone layer would return to its proper form by 2050 or so. But when Ball and his colleagues measured the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere, they found that the overall concentration was about the same as it’s been, despite that measured boost&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/the-ozone-layer-is-still-getting-thinner-new-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-203690</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pollution from East Asia affecting air quality in Borneo&#8217;s rainforests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/04/pollution-from-east-asia-affecting-air-quality-in-borneos-rainforests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/04/pollution-from-east-asia-affecting-air-quality-in-borneos-rainforests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Apr 2015 17:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/04/pollution-from-east-asia-affecting-air-quality-in-borneos-rainforests/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Borneo, China, East Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Environment, Forests, Green, Ozone Layer, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. In early March, scientists with the University of Maryland and NASA made an incredible announcement: they had discovered that vast clouds of mineral-rich dust blow from the Sahara Desert in North Africa and cross the Atlantic Ocean to enrich the soils of South America’s Amazon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. In early March, scientists with the University of Maryland and NASA made an incredible announcement: they had discovered that vast clouds of mineral-rich dust blow from the Sahara Desert in North Africa and cross the Atlantic Ocean to enrich the soils of South America’s Amazon rainforest. As awe-inspiring as this news is, the more we learn about the interconnectedness of all living systems, the more we are confronted with the possibility that the things humans do to one ecosystem may have far-reaching impacts that we’re only beginning to understand. Late last year, for instance, a study published in Nature Climate Change found that tropical deforestation could be shifting rainfall patterns across the globe, which has major implications for agriculture not just in the immediate area but even far from where the forest loss has occurred. Now a study published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics finds that industrial activities in East Asia are polluting the air in the rainforests of Borneo and that, once there, the pollutants could be traveling into the upper atmosphere and impacting Earth’s ozone layer. Led by Matthew Ashfold of the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, the researchers were originally attempting to test a hypothesis that oceans are a significant source of various bromine and chlorine compounds that might play a role in the chemistry of the ozone layer. There was almost no data for them to go on, however, so they set out devices&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/04/pollution-from-east-asia-affecting-air-quality-in-borneos-rainforests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-23913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forests could be a thrifty way to fight ozone pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/forests-could-be-a-thrifty-way-to-fight-ozone-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/forests-could-be-a-thrifty-way-to-fight-ozone-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Dec 2014 19:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nala Rogers]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/12/forests-could-be-a-thrifty-way-to-fight-ozone-pollution/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecosystem Services, Environment, Forests, Green, Ozone Layer, Pollution, Reforestation, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Planting trees may be a cost-effective way to reduce ground-level ozone, a toxic component of smog that contributes to the deaths of about 152,000 people annually worldwide, according to new research. The study is the first to lay out a practical plan and examine the economic impacts of lowering ozone levels with trees. Scientists used [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Planting trees may be a cost-effective way to reduce ground-level ozone, a toxic component of smog that contributes to the deaths of about 152,000 people annually worldwide, according to new research. The study is the first to lay out a practical plan and examine the economic impacts of lowering ozone levels with trees. Scientists used a computer model to forecast what might happen if they reforested part of the Houston-Galveston area of Texas, a region regularly swamped by smog. In 2013, for instance, there were 19 days when air pollution exceeded federal standards at one or more monitoring stations in the area. The model predicted that people could reduce ozone pollution more cheaply with trees than with engineering-based methods such as stricter controls over emissions from cars and factories. Reforestation was cost-effective so long as people could cooperate with existing landowners rather than buying the land themselves. At the same time, a revitalized forest would expand recreation opportunities, increase biodiversity, and help prevent erosion. &#8220;Investing in nature, restoring nature, can help us address specific environmental problems, and produce lots of additional benefits basically for free,&#8221; said Timm Kroeger, senior environmental economist with The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia, who led the research team. Ground-level ozone pollution is distinct from the &#8220;ozone layer&#8221; high in Earth&#8217;s atmosphere. Atmospheric ozone protects the planet by absorbing the sun&#8217;s ultraviolet rays. Pollutants formerly used in refrigerants and aerosol cans have destroyed part of this layer. But close to the ground, ozone harms plants and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/forests-could-be-a-thrifty-way-to-fight-ozone-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>China to phase out super greenhouse gas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/china-to-phase-out-super-greenhouse-gas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/china-to-phase-out-super-greenhouse-gas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2013 22:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/04/china-to-phase-out-super-greenhouse-gas/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and China]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Industry, Mitigation, and Ozone Layer]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Some eight billion tonnes of greenhouse gases could be kept out of the atmosphere if China sticks to a deal with the United Nation&#8217;s Montreal Protocol to eliminate the production of hydro-fluorocarbons (HCFCs). In return for phasing out HCFC production by 2030, the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol on Substances has promised China of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Some eight billion tonnes of greenhouse gases could be kept out of the atmosphere if China sticks to a deal with the United Nation&#8217;s Montreal Protocol to eliminate the production of hydro-fluorocarbons (HCFCs). In return for phasing out HCFC production by 2030, the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol on Substances has promised China of funding up to $385 million. &#8220;China will close and dismantle its production lines producing only HCFCs for uses controlled under the Montreal Protocol and ensure that any HCFC plants that will receive funding do not switch to producing HCFCs as industrial feedstock,&#8221; reads a press statement from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). According to the UN, China is responsible for 92 percent of HCFC production in the developing world, making it pivotal for phasing out HCFC worldwide. &#8220;This is an important step which demonstrates yet again the significance of the Montreal Protocol in providing effective climate mitigation through a tried and tested process,&#8221; Clare Perry Senior Campaigner with the EIA says. The Montreal Protocol, which targeted ozone depleting gases worldwide, is often held up as one of the most effective treaties ever made. Since 1987, it has successfully eradicated 97 percent of ozone-depleting chemicals. HCFCs are used in refrigeration, air conditioning, solvents, foam production, and medical sterilization, but its production can come with a hefty environmental price. HCFCs release HFC-23, a super greenhouse gas that is 14,800 time more potent than carbon over 100 years; the gas also stays in the atmosphere for 270 years.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/china-to-phase-out-super-greenhouse-gas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-29143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Air pollution killed 7 million people in 2010</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/air-pollution-killed-7-million-people-in-2010/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/air-pollution-killed-7-million-people-in-2010/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2013 15:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/04/air-pollution-killed-7-million-people-in-2010/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Environment, Green, Health, Ozone Layer, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seven million people died from air pollution in 2010, according to new data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, published in the medical journal Lancet. The research found that indoor air pollution killed 3.5 million people in 2010, outdoor air pollution 3.3 million, and ground level ozone pollution 200,000 people. &#8220;Air pollution is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seven million people died from air pollution in 2010, according to new data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, published in the medical journal Lancet. The research found that indoor air pollution killed 3.5 million people in 2010, outdoor air pollution 3.3 million, and ground level ozone pollution 200,000 people. &#8220;Air pollution is becoming one of the biggest health issues we have in front of us at the moment,&#8221; Maria Neira, the WHO’s Director of Public Health and Environment, told a Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) meeting in Paris, France this weekend. Neira employed the recent statistics to highlight the scale of the problem to the coalition, which focuses on combating short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon. Notably, over a third of the deaths due to outdoor air pollution occurred in China, which accounts for 1.2 million of the mortalities. Outdoor air pollution was the fourth highest killer in China after diet, high-blood pressure, and smoking reports the New York Times. India comes in second for outdoor air pollution-related deaths. In 2010, around 620,000 Indians died prematurely due to outdoor air pollution. CITATION: Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet. 2013. Related articles Proposed coal plant threatens Critically Endangered Philippine cockatoo (04/02/2013) One kilometer off the Philippine island of Palawan lays the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary; here forest grows unimpeded from a coral island surrounded by mangroves and coral reefs. Although tiny, over a hundred bird species have been recorded on the island along with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/04/air-pollution-killed-7-million-people-in-2010/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-29246</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biofuel boom could lead to life-threatening ozone pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/01/biofuel-boom-could-lead-to-life-threatening-ozone-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/01/biofuel-boom-could-lead-to-life-threatening-ozone-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2013 22:37:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/01/biofuel-boom-could-lead-to-life-threatening-ozone-pollution/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioenergy, Biofuels, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Green, Ozone Layer, Plantations, Plants, Pollution, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Not long ago biofuels were seen as one of the major tools to combat climate change, but a large number of studies in recent years have shown that many first generation biofuels may have little climate benefit&#8212;and some are actually harmful&#8212;and are also linked to rising food prices. Now, a new study in Nature Climate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Not long ago biofuels were seen as one of the major tools to combat climate change, but a large number of studies in recent years have shown that many first generation biofuels may have little climate benefit&#8212;and some are actually harmful&#8212;and are also linked to rising food prices. Now, a new study in Nature Climate Change warns that biofuels using fast-growing trees (polar, willow, and eucalytpus) could also exacerbate ground-level ozone pollution. &#8220;Concerns about climate change and energy security are driving an aggressive expansion of bioenergy crop production and many of these plant species emit more isoprene than the traditional crops they are replacing,&#8221; the paper states. Isoprene is a precursor to ozone, which as a ground-level pollutant is believed to cause many health-problems especially among the vulnerable, including premature death. The compound is produced by a number of species of trees, including those most likely to be grown en masse for bioenergy. The paper estimates that growing trees on 72 million hectares of land in Europe could result in 1,400 premature deaths on the continent annually at a cost of $7.1B. Currently, 22,000 people are estimated to die prematurely from ozone pollution in Europe every year. Ground-level ozone also reduces crop yields. &#8220;The extent to which these crops will be grown is still a subject of much debate. Using all the land available (72 million hectare) must be seen as an extreme case, especially when food security is a priority,&#8221; Keith Goulding with Rothamsted Research said in response to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/01/biofuel-boom-could-lead-to-life-threatening-ozone-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-29784</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Antarctica’s sea ice increasing due to ozone hole, but scientists predict global warming will catch-up</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2009/04/antarcticas-sea-ice-increasing-due-to-ozone-hole-but-scientists-predict-global-warming-will-catch-up/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2009/04/antarcticas-sea-ice-increasing-due-to-ozone-hole-but-scientists-predict-global-warming-will-catch-up/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2009 17:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2009/04/antarcticas-sea-ice-increasing-due-to-ozone-hole-but-scientists-predict-global-warming-will-catch-up/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Green, Impact Of Climate Change, Ozone Layer, and Sea Ice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Increasing ice in Antarctica is not a sign that the earth is actually cooling instead of warming as some climate change-skeptics have attested. A new study finds that the growth in Antarctic ice during the last 30 years is actually due to shifting weather patterns caused by the hole in the ozone layer. The researchers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Increasing ice in Antarctica is not a sign that the earth is actually cooling instead of warming as some climate change-skeptics have attested. A new study finds that the growth in Antarctic ice during the last 30 years is actually due to shifting weather patterns caused by the hole in the ozone layer. The researchers predict that eventually global warming will catch up to Antarctica leading to overall melting as it has in the Arctic. &#8220;Our results show the complexity of climate change across the Earth. While there is increasing evidence that the loss of sea ice in the Arctic has occurred due to human activity, in the Antarctic human influence through the ozone hole has had the reverse effect and resulted in more ice,” says lead author John Turner from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). “Although the ozone hole is in many ways holding back the effects of greenhouse gas increases on the Antarctic, this will not last, as we expect ozone levels to recover by the end of the 21st Century. By then there is likely to be around one third less Antarctic sea ice.&#8221; Published in Geophysical Research Letter the study by scientists from NASA and BAS found that the hole in the ozone layer strengthened surface winds in Antarctica while deepening storms in the South Pacific, leading to more cold air over West Antarctica which in turn has caused the increase in ice production. Satellites have revealed that ice loss and production in Antarctica is highly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2009/04/antarcticas-sea-ice-increasing-due-to-ozone-hole-but-scientists-predict-global-warming-will-catch-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-36787</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone hole is second-largest on record in 2008</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/ozone-hole-is-second-largest-on-record-in-2008/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/ozone-hole-is-second-largest-on-record-in-2008/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2008 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/ozone-hole-is-second-largest-on-record-in-2008/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, Green, Ozone Layer, Pollution, and Remote Sensing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone hole is second-largest on record in 2008 Ozone hole is second-largest on record in 2008 mongabay.com October 30, 2008]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ozone hole is second-largest on record in 2008 Ozone hole is second-largest on record in 2008 mongabay.com October 30, 2008This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/ozone-hole-is-second-largest-on-record-in-2008/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-37907</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Geoengineering solution to global warming could destroy the ozone layer</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/geoengineering-solution-to-global-warming-could-destroy-the-ozone-layer/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/geoengineering-solution-to-global-warming-could-destroy-the-ozone-layer/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2008 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/geoengineering-solution-to-global-warming-could-destroy-the-ozone-layer/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica and Greenland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Earth Science, Environment, Geoengineering, Green, Mitigation, Ozone Layer, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Geoengineering solution to global warming could destroy the ozone layer Geoengineering solution to global warming could destroy the ozone layer mongabay.com April 24, 2008 A proposed plan to fight global warming by injecting sulfate particles into Earth&#8217;s upper atmosphere could damage the ozone layer over the Arctic and Antarctic, report researchers writing in the journal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Geoengineering solution to global warming could destroy the ozone layer Geoengineering solution to global warming could destroy the ozone layer mongabay.com April 24, 2008 A proposed plan to fight global warming by injecting sulfate particles into Earth&#8217;s upper atmosphere could damage the ozone layer over the Arctic and Antarctic, report researchers writing in the journal Science. The ozone layer is important because it blocks dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Based on observations of the global temperature effects from aerosols released during volcanic eruptions, some scientists have proposed scattering light-reflecting sulfate particles in the atmosphere as a way to mitigate climate change. Paul J. Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the hole in the ozone layer, has said that injecting sulfur into the atmosphere could slow global warming by reflecting solar radiation back into space. Now a new study led by Simone Tilmes of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) warns that regular injections of sulfates over the next few decades would destroy between one- and three-quarters of the ozone layer above the Arctic. Meanwhile in the Antarctic, the geoengineering scheme could delay the expected recovery of the current ozone hole by 30 to 70 years. Polar stratospheric clouds are an alluring component of the high latitude sky. Reactions occurring on these cloud surfaces convert chlorine to a form highly reactive with ozone. A proposed geoengineering scheme to mitigate climate change involves the injection of prodigious amounts of sulfur into the stratosphere,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/geoengineering-solution-to-global-warming-could-destroy-the-ozone-layer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-38394</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone-hole recovery may spur Antarctic warming</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/ozone-hole-recovery-may-spur-antarctic-warming/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/ozone-hole-recovery-may-spur-antarctic-warming/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2008 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Agu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/ozone-hole-recovery-may-spur-antarctic-warming/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Earth Science, Environment, Green, Ozone Layer, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone-hole recovery may spur Antarctic warming Ozone-hole recovery may spur Antarctic warming AGU April 24, 2008 A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could strongly modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and possibly amplify warming of the Antarctic continent, a new study finds. &#8220;If the successful control of ozone-depleting substances allows for a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ozone-hole recovery may spur Antarctic warming Ozone-hole recovery may spur Antarctic warming AGU April 24, 2008 A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could strongly modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and possibly amplify warming of the Antarctic continent, a new study finds. &#8220;If the successful control of ozone-depleting substances allows for a full recovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica, we may finally see the interior of Antarctica begin to warm with the rest of the world,&#8221; says Judith Perlwitz of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Perlwitz is lead author of the study. While average surface temperatures have been increasing globally, the interior of Antarctica has exhibited a unique cooling trend during the austral (Southern Hemisphere) summer and fall, Perlwitz notes. The cooling is attributed to ozone depletion. She and her colleagues conclude that, as stratospheric ozone levels return to near pre-1969 levels by the end of the 21st century, large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns currently shielding the Antarctic interior from warmer air masses to the north will begin to break down during the austral summer. These circulation patterns are collectively known as a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode, or SAM. The scientists find that, as ozone levels recover, the lower stratosphere over the polar region will absorb more ultraviolet radiation from the sun. This will cause air temperatures roughly 10-20 kilometers (6-12 miles) above Earth&#8217;s surface to rise by as much as 9 degrees Celsius, reducing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2008/04/ozone-hole-recovery-may-spur-antarctic-warming/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-38392</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rich countries grow at ecological expense of poor countries</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/01/rich-countries-grow-at-ecological-expense-of-poor-countries/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/01/rich-countries-grow-at-ecological-expense-of-poor-countries/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jan 2008 14:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/rich-countries-grow-at-ecological-expense-of-poor-countries/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Economics, Environment, Green, Impact Of Climate Change, Mangroves, Overfishing, Ozone Layer, Politics, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest destruction for palm oil in Malaysian Borneo. Photo by Rhett Butler The costs of environmental degradation caused by rich countries are disproportionately falling on the world&#8217;s poorest countries, reports an analysis published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tallying the environmental costs of climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, agricultural intensification [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Rainforest destruction for palm oil in Malaysian Borneo. Photo by Rhett Butler The costs of environmental degradation caused by rich countries are disproportionately falling on the world&#8217;s poorest countries, reports an analysis published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tallying the environmental costs of climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, agricultural intensification and expansion, deforestation, overfishing, and mangrove conversion from human activities over 1961-2000, University of California Berkeley researchers led by Pacific Ecoinformatics lab scientist Dr. Thara Srinivasan found total damages ranged up to $47 trillion in net present value. More importantly, Srinivasan and colleagues show that environmental damages like climate change and ozone depletion have been &#8220;overwhelmingly driven&#8221; by emissions from middle- and high-income groups, but the impacts are disproportionately borne by low-income nations. Image courtesy of U. Thara Srinivasan &#8220;To our knowledge, our study is the first to really examine where nations&#8217; ecological footprints are falling, and it is an interesting contrast to the wealth of nations. We find that the footprint of rich nations treads heavily on poor countries. For climate change and ozone depletion, damages for low-income countries have been overwhelmingly driven by emissions by middle- and high-income groups. We also see a stark pattern for overfishing &#8212; seafood derived from depleted fish stocks in low-income country waters ultimately ends up on the plates of consumers in middle-income and rich countries. A similar situation exists for the conversion of mangroves to shrimp farms, with high-income countries consuming the shrimp and low- and middle-income&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2008/01/rich-countries-grow-at-ecological-expense-of-poor-countries/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-38669</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/08/ozone-hole-makes-early-appearance-in-2007/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/08/ozone-hole-makes-early-appearance-in-2007/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2007 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Special To Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/ozone-hole-makes-early-appearance-in-2007/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Green, and Ozone Layer]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007 Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007 By Joshua S Hill special to mongabay.com August 28, 2007 The Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985 by British scientists Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey. Though called a hole, it is rather a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007 Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007 By Joshua S Hill special to mongabay.com August 28, 2007 The Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985 by British scientists Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey. Though called a hole, it is rather a location in the ozone shield &#8212; a layer that keeps ultra-violet rays from affecting us directly &#8212; that is substantially lacking in ozone concentration. According to NASA&#8217;s Ozone Hole Watch page, &#8220;The depth and size of the Antarctic ozone hole are governed by the temperature of the stratosphere and amount of sunlight reaching the South Polar Region.&#8221; This hole, which grows in size towards the end of every year with the onset of the Southern Hemisphere&#8217;s summer months, has appeared earlier this year, provoking speculation as to whether the hole will grow larger than 2006&#8217;s record breaking size. Geir Braathen, a senior scientific officer with the WMO&#8217;s atmospheric research and environment programme, believes that the hole could reach as far north as the tip of South America. This still image is from an animation that zooms down to Antarctica and shows the daily ozone readings from July 1, 2005 to October 25,2005. Credit: NASA According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) &#8212; the United Nations weather agency &#8212; it will not be clear for several weeks as to whether it will exceed last year&#8217;s size, as the conditions of the gap are based on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2007/08/ozone-hole-makes-early-appearance-in-2007/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-39086</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>China to ban ozone-depleting CFCs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/06/china-to-ban-ozone-depleting-cfcs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/06/china-to-ban-ozone-depleting-cfcs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2007 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/china-to-ban-ozone-depleting-cfcs/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Environmental Law, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Ozone Layer, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[China to ban ozone-depleting CFCs China to ban ozone-depleting CFCs mongabay.com June 28, 2007 China has moved to ban the production of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), according to a statement from the country&#8217;s environmental protection agency. The action is in accordance with the 1987 Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of ozone layer-depleting products . [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[China to ban ozone-depleting CFCs China to ban ozone-depleting CFCs mongabay.com June 28, 2007 China has moved to ban the production of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), according to a statement from the country&#8217;s environmental protection agency. The action is in accordance with the 1987 Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of ozone layer-depleting products . China, which signed the agreement in 1991, says it will end all CFC production by 2010. &#8220;Relevant companies must demolish equipment involved in the production of CFC substances by Aug. 15,&#8221; stated the State Environmental Protection Agency. This still image is from an animation that zooms down to Antarctica and shows the daily ozone readings from July 1, 2005 to October 25,2005. Credit: NASA Ozone depletion is blamed for the ozone &#8220;hole&#8221; that appears over the Antarctic. The ozone hole is caused by the &#8220;catalytic destruction&#8221; of ozone by atomic chlorine and bromine, the source of which is primarily chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds known as &#8220;freons&#8221; and bromofluorocarbon compounds known as halons. In 1987, following the discovery that these compounds were responsible for the ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere, the international community adopted the Montreal Protocol which banned the production of CFCs and halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals. These compounds are also known to be greenhouse gases dozens of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Because the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths of ultraviolet light from entering the Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, ozone depletion is a significant concern. Increased penetration by UVB&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2007/06/china-to-ban-ozone-depleting-cfcs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-39295</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate change leaving amphibians behind in extinction race</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/04/climate-change-leaving-amphibians-behind-in-extinction-race/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/04/climate-change-leaving-amphibians-behind-in-extinction-race/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2007 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
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										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Science, Endangered Species, Environment, Evolution, Extinction, Frogs, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Herps, Ozone Layer, Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[Facing extinction, amphibians fail to cope with global warming Facing extinction, amphibians fail to cope with global warming mongabay.com April 30, 2007 Despite surviving the age of dinosaurs and numerous bouts of severe climate change, amphibians are not keeping pace with the current rate of global change, reports a new study published in the journal [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Facing extinction, amphibians fail to cope with global warming Facing extinction, amphibians fail to cope with global warming mongabay.com April 30, 2007 Despite surviving the age of dinosaurs and numerous bouts of severe climate change, amphibians are not keeping pace with the current rate of global change, reports a new study published in the journal Bioscience. &#8220;We know that there are various causes for amphibian population declines, including UV-B light exposure, habitat loss, pesticide pollution, infections and other issues,&#8221; said Andrew Blaustein, author of the study and a professor of zoology at Oregon State University. &#8220;But looked at in a different way, it&#8217;s not just that there are threats and pressures amphibians have to deal with. There have always been threats, and these have been some of the most adaptive and successful vertebrate animals on Earth. They were around before the dinosaurs, have lived in periods with very different climates, and continued to thrive while many other species went extinct. But right now, they just can&#8217;t keep up.&#8221; More than a third of the world&#8217;s 5,743 known species of amphibians are threatened, while 168 species are believed to have gone extinct in recent years. Blaustein says that amphibians are especially at risk &#8220;because their physiology and complex life cycle often exposes them to a wider range of environmental changes than other species must face &#8212; they have permeable skin, live on both land and water, their eggs have no shells.&#8221; &#8220;Historically, amphibians were adept at evolving to deal with new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2007/04/climate-change-leaving-amphibians-behind-in-extinction-race/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-39539</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone ban has been more effective in fighting global warming than Kyoto Protocol</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/03/ozone-ban-has-been-more-effective-in-fighting-global-warming-than-kyoto-protocol/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2007/03/ozone-ban-has-been-more-effective-in-fighting-global-warming-than-kyoto-protocol/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2007 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
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										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Earth Science, Environment, Green, Ozone Layer, and Politics]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone ban has been effective in fighting global warming Ozone ban has been more effective in fighting global warming than Kyoto Protocol mongabay.com March 5, 2007 The 1987 Montreal Protocol, which restricted the use of ozone-depleting substances, has helped slow the rate of global warming in addition to protecting the ozone layer, report scientists writing [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone ban has been effective in fighting global warming Ozone ban has been more effective in fighting global warming than Kyoto Protocol mongabay.com March 5, 2007 The 1987 Montreal Protocol, which restricted the use of ozone-depleting substances, has helped slow the rate of global warming in addition to protecting the ozone layer, report scientists writing in a paper published online in the early edition of PNAS. Signed in 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty that limited production of ozone-depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs) known as &#8220;freons&#8221; and bromofluorocarbon compounds known as Halons. These compounds are also known to be greenhouse gases dozens of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Guus Velders of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and colleagues report that without the reductions achieved under the Montreal Protocol, the amount of heat trapped by the atmosphere due to ozone-depleting substances would be roughly twice as high as it is today. The authors say &#8220;the savings in trapped heat are equivalent to about 10 years of growth in carbon dioxide concentrations&#8221; and note that the &#8220;climate protection already achieved by the Montreal Protocol alone is far larger than the reduction target of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.&#8221; This still image is from an animation that zooms down to Antarctica and shows the daily ozone readings from July 1, 2005 to October 25,2005. Credit: NASA Velders and colleagues argue that amendments to the Montreal Protocol, especially in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2007/03/ozone-ban-has-been-more-effective-in-fighting-global-warming-than-kyoto-protocol/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-39557</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Antarctic ozone depletion exceeds that of Arctic</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/12/antarctic-ozone-depletion-exceeds-that-of-arctic/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/12/antarctic-ozone-depletion-exceeds-that-of-arctic/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Dec 2006 22:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Green, and Ozone Layer]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[Antarctic ozone depletion exceeds that of Arctic Antarctic ozone depletion exceeds that of Arctic mongabay.com December 25, 2006 A new study comparing ozone depletion between the poles shows that the Antarctic is experiencing the most severe depletion of the ozone layer. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Antarctic ozone depletion exceeds that of Arctic Antarctic ozone depletion exceeds that of Arctic mongabay.com December 25, 2006 A new study comparing ozone depletion between the poles shows that the Antarctic is experiencing the most severe depletion of the ozone layer. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition for the week of December 26-29, 2006, Susan Solomon at the Earth System Research Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, and colleagues found that ozone loss peaks as winter ends when spring temperatures at the coldest levels. Observations of daily total column ozone in Antarctica in September (Left) and in the Arctic in March (Right). Some records have been offset in time slightly for clarity. Courtesy of PNAS. In the Antarctic, the researchers found that local ozone depletion at some altitudes often exceeded 90 percent and reached up to 99 percent during a typical Antarctic winter. Ozone depletion was lower in the Arctic, where losses only occasionally peaking at 70 percent. In October, scientists from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that ozone loss in Antarctica hit a record in 2006. The agencies reported that the ozone hole was the largest and deepest ever recorded, exceeding the previous record set in 2000. The ozone hole is caused by the &#8220;catalytic destruction&#8221; of ozone by atomic chlorine and bromine, the source of which is primarily chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds known as &#8220;freons&#8221; and bromofluorocarbon compounds known as Halons. In 1987, following the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2006/12/antarctic-ozone-depletion-exceeds-that-of-arctic/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-39903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone hole near record size</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/09/ozone-hole-near-record-size/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/09/ozone-hole-near-record-size/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2006 18:29:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Green, and Ozone Layer]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone hole near record size Ozone hole near record size mongabay.com September 22, 2006 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Friday that hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica will expand this year to 27.9 million square kilometers (10.8 million square miles), its second-highest recorded level in history. The hole will fall short of the [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone hole near record size Ozone hole near record size mongabay.com September 22, 2006 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Friday that hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica will expand this year to 27.9 million square kilometers (10.8 million square miles), its second-highest recorded level in history. The hole will fall short of the record set in 2000 of 28.5 million square kilometers (11 million square miles). The hole in the ozone layer has been forming on a seasonal basis over Antarctic since the mid-1980s. Generally the hole is largest around late September. Click image for details. Courtesy of WMO. The hole results from the &#8220;catalytic destruction&#8221; of ozone by atomic chlorine and bromine, the source of which is primarily chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds known as &#8220;freons&#8221; and bromofluorocarbon compounds known as Halons. In 1987, following the discovery that these compounds were responsible for the ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere, the international community adopted the Montreal Protocol which banned the production of CFCs and halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals. Because the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths of ultraviolet light from entering the Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, ozone depletion is a significant concern. Increased penetration by UVB wavelengths of ultraviolet light is believed to heighten the incidence of skin cancer, damage plants, and reduce ocean plankton populations. Scientists from NASA and other agencies believe that the ozone hole over the Antarctic will recover around 2068, nearly 20 years later than estimated in the late 1990s. Ozone hole&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2006/09/ozone-hole-near-record-size/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-40122</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Ozone hole recovery slower than expected</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/06/ozone-hole-recovery-slower-than-expected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/06/ozone-hole-recovery-slower-than-expected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2006 15:19:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nasa]]>
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										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
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											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Green, Oceans, Ozone Layer, and Technology]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone hole recovery slower than expected Ozone hole recovery slower than expected NASA June 29, 2006 Scientists from NASA and other agencies have concluded that the ozone hole over the Antarctic will recover around 2068, nearly 20 years later than previously believed. Researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone hole recovery slower than expected Ozone hole recovery slower than expected NASA June 29, 2006 Scientists from NASA and other agencies have concluded that the ozone hole over the Antarctic will recover around 2068, nearly 20 years later than previously believed. Researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed a new tool, a math-based computer model, to predict the timing of ozone hole recovery. Their findings will be published tomorrow in Geophysical Research Letters. The Antarctic ozone hole is a massive loss of ozone that occurs each spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The ozone hole is caused by chlorine and bromine gases in the stratosphere, an upper layer of the atmosphere, that destroy ozone in an annually recurring process that takes place in the unique meteorological conditions of the Antarctic stratosphere. Those gases come from human-produced chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons. &#8220;The Antarctic ozone hole is the poster child of ozone loss in our atmosphere,&#8221; said lead author Paul Newman, a research scientist at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. &#8220;Over areas that are farther from the poles like Africa or the continental U.S., the annually averaged levels of upper atmospheric ozone are only three to six percent below natural levels. But, over Antarctica, ozone is 70 percent lower in the spring. This new method allows us to more accurately estimate ozone-depleting gases over Antarctica, and how they will decrease over time, reducing the ozone hole area.&#8221;&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2006/06/ozone-hole-recovery-slower-than-expected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-40292</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ozone Layer Recovering Finds Boulder Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/05/ozone-layer-recovering-finds-boulder-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2006/05/ozone-layer-recovering-finds-boulder-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 May 2006 15:19:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[University Of Colorado At Boulder]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2006/05/ozone-layer-recovering-finds-boulder-study/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Green, and Ozone Layer]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ozone Layer Recovering Finds Boulder Study Ozone Layer Recovering Finds Boulder Study University of Colorado at Boulder May 3, 2006 While Earth&#8217;s ozone layer is slowly being replenished following an international 1987 agreement banning CFCs, the recovery is occurring in a changing atmosphere and is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, says a new University [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ozone Layer Recovering Finds Boulder Study Ozone Layer Recovering Finds Boulder Study University of Colorado at Boulder May 3, 2006 While Earth&#8217;s ozone layer is slowly being replenished following an international 1987 agreement banning CFCs, the recovery is occurring in a changing atmosphere and is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. The recovery is a result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol banning chlorine pollutants from the atmosphere, said Betsy Weatherhead, a researcher with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But by the end of the century, ozone levels could be slightly higher or slightly lower than before 1980 because of high natural variability and human caused changes like warming temperatures, said Weatherhead. A paper by Weatherhead and Signe Bech Andersen of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen is featured on the cover of the May 4 issue of Nature. &#8220;We now have some confidence that the ozone layer is responding to the decreases in chlorine levels in the atmosphere due to the leveling off and decrease of CFCs, and most of the improvements are in agreement with what we had hoped for with the Montreal Protocol in place,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But we are not out of the woods yet, and the ozone recovery process still faces a number of uncertainties.&#8221; At high latitudes, for example, warmer temperatures at Earth&#8217;s surface can trigger colder conditions in the lower&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2006/05/ozone-layer-recovering-finds-boulder-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-61454</doi>				</item>
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