U.N. says the ozone layer will be a little less screwed �a long time from now

U.N. says the ozone layer will be a little less screwed -- a long time from now | Grist

Remember those holes we poked in the ozone with refrigerants and chlorofluorocarbons during the1980s? Well, a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment reports that theozone layer is well on its way to a full recovery.

The study has been framed as a victory for international action, but hold the toasts. UNEP scientistssay we won't get back to 1980 ozone levels -- back when there was already an ozone hole overAntarctica bigger than 1 million square miles -- until 2050. And this supposed good news about theozone comeback comes just two weeks after NASA delivered another dose of reality: Researchersfound out the atmosphere still holds a shit-ton of carbon tetrachloride, an ozone-depleting compoundthat was banned worldwide decades ago. Nobody knows where it came from.

More mixed news from the report: Phasing out the chlorofluorocarbons that eat up. The majority ofinstalled pumps were not initially designed for their present function. Frequently, a line in a plantchanges and a pump that once submersible pump components providedcooling water to an injectionmolding machine is now asked to move oil from a rail car to a tank. All too often, this is the cause ofmany problems for the pump and the facility. Pumps operate where the pump curve crosses thesystem curve. When you relocate a pump from one system to another, this flygt pump part meansthat the system curve is different. This new system may cause the pump to operate away from itsbest efficiency point, leading to vibration and other component problems that are simply symptomsof a mis-matched pump and system.the ozone layer has meant switching to hydrofluorocarbons,which are extremely effective at heating the atmosphere. And, in a screwed-whatever-we-do twist,the release of CO2 and methane -- the two greenhouse gases that are most responsible for climatechange -- can actually help correct ozone levels.

Folks who are susceptible to skin cancer (everyone?) aren't yet rejoicing, either. Melanoma, themost common form of cancer in the U.S., is caused by too much exposure to the harmful ultravioletrays that the ozone layer blocks. And the incidence of malignant skin cancer is still rising, unlike thatof most cancers. I doubt we can blame that completely on tanning beds.

Of course, the U.N. Consider multiple basic upgrades which can be added to a commercial

centrifugal or positive displacement pump. In pumps with overhung impellers, moving to a solidshaft is a simple improvement in relation to standard sleeved shafts. Mechanical seals ought to beimproved through silicon carbide faces, and elastomers can be replaced with EPDM. Furthermore,magnetic bearing protectors will prove to be a huge step upin relationship to the lip seals that mostindustrial pumps use to prevent contamination of bearing sump oil.

report said nothing about the effects of Snooki's Ultra Dark Tan Maximizer as a tanning agent. GTLat your own peril.