We now have airtight, unimpeachable evidence that ExxonMobil accurately predicted global warming years before it turned around and publicly attacked climate science and scientists. Our findings show that ExxonMobil’s public denial of climate science contradicted its own scientists’ data.
Dr. Geoffrey Supran, University of Miami
A recently released United Nations report concluded that the ozone layer in the earth’s stratosphere is slowly healing, with the hole over Antarctica projected to close in about 43 years. This is mainly due to the Montreal Protocol entered into in 1987 whereby countries agreed to stop producing chemicals that destroy the ozone layer, including chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerants and aerosols. The ozone layer shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage. The report indicated that chlorine levels are down 11.5 percent since they peaked in 1993; while bromine, which is more efficient at destroying ozone, dropped 14.5 percent since its 1999 peak. Another set of chemicals, called HFC, that are heat-trapping greenhouse gases, were banned a few years ago. This ban would avoid 0.3 to 0.5℃ of additional warming.