Antartic shelf losing more ice.

The above headline article appeared on page 4A of the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday, April 30, 2009. The article stated that massive ice chuncks are crumbling away from a shelf in the western Antartic Peninsula, researchers said Wednesday, warning that 1,300 square miles of ice -- an area larger than Rhode Island -- was in danger of breaking off in coming weeks. The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been stable for most of the last century but began retreating in the 1990s. Researchers believe it was held in place by an ice bridge linking Charcot Island to the Antartic mainland. But the 127-square mile bridge lost two large chunks last year and then shattered completely on April 5. "There is little doubt that these changes are the result of atmospheric warming," said David Vaughan of the British Antartic Survey.
Does this news surprise anyone? The size of the depleted ozone area in that Antartic region in 1990 was 6.5 million square miles. The current size of the ozone hole in that same area is now 16.7 million square miles, more than doubled. The falling away of Antartic ice shelves does not, in itself, raise sea levels, since the ice was already in the sea. But such ice usually holds back glaciers. Freed, the land ice often flows more quickly into the sea, adding to a rise in sea levels.

Ozone loss disaster was avoided.

The above headline was printed on Friday, March 20, 2009 on page 3A of the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper from an Associated Press article: NASA credits the international cutback of CFC emissions. A NASA study about ozone-munching chemicals from aerosol sprays and refrigeration used a computer model to play a game of what-if. What if the world 22 years ago hadn't agreed to cut back on chlorofluorocarbons, which cause a seasonal ozone hole to form near the South Pole? NASA atmospheric scientest Paul Newman said the answer is a "bizarre world." By 2065, two-thirds of the protective ozone layer would have vanished and "the ozone hole covers the Earth." And CFC's, which are longlived potent greenhouse gases, would have pushed the world's temperature up 4 degrees.
Notice that nothing was mentioned that the current ozone hole is now listed at 16.5 million square miles versus what the reading was 22 years ago, 7.2 million square miles. That is an increase of 9.3 million square miles. NASA wants to blame the chemicals from areosol sprays and refrigeration as the culprits for depleating the ozone layer, when it is NASA and the other 45 Space Agencies that are depleating the ozone layer with their frequent launchings that are averaging a launch every 2.7 days.