Author: Steve Milloy

A new study reports the existence since the 1980s of an ozone ‘hole’ over the tropics much larger than the alleged Antarctic one that caused the Montreal Protocol. No harm has been reported related to the “hole” (really just a thinning of the ozone layer) despite being over the tropics (vs. Antarctic wasteland). We have always thought ozone hysteria to be junk science-fueled and this is more evidence of that. This new hole clearly debunks the rationale for the 1986 Montreal Protocol and ensuing hysteria over the refrigerants CFCs, HCFCs and now HFCs. The problem with ozone hole hysteria is that while the chemistry is true in a laboratory setting (chlorine molecules + UV radiation destroys ozone molecules) the actual atmosphere is more complex and ozone reforms. Variations in the ozone layer are not really understood. So the Montreal protocol was a fraud and consumers have been ripped off by refrigerant manufacturers for decades. But it’s not too late to stop the fraud. The Senate is now considering the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to ban HFCs, which will lead to even more expensive refrigerants. Although Kigali technically addresses HFCs for their alleged climatic effects, the entire process is flawed. The Kigali Amendment must not be ratified until a through new scientific review is undertaken. More on this later. Here is the study’s media release. Here is the study.