One of the great environmental success stories of the past few decades has been the concerted international effort to ban the use of chemicals harmful to the ozone shield, an effort which has begun to bear fruit as the hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic continent has begun to close steadily over the past few years. This is a very positive development – and yet . . . .
It now appears that damage to the ozone layer had
served to mask global warming in the southern hemisphere. The very necessary act of ameliorating damage to the ozone layer has, as a direct result, most likely exacerbated the deleterious effects of greenhouse gases.
Life is complex.
