Extreme weather will always exist

On Aug. 23, C-SPAN broadcast an interview of Dr. Ben Carson by Chuck Todd. During the interview, Todd claimed that the banning of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has closed the ozone hole over Antarctica. But, according to a recent NASA study, banning of ozone depleting chemicals hasn't yet caused detectable improvements in the Antarctic ozone hole.

When the ozone hole was first discovered NASA came up with a theory that it was caused by CFCs. The government then banned CFCs and the ozone hole shrank. NASA then claimed credit for averting disaster. Shortly thereafter it was discovered that the ozone hole expands and contracts with the seasons and is also highly correlated with cosmic radiation levels which are correlated with sun spot activity.

In addition, as the sun heats the air at the equator during the day, warm air rises and is replaced by cooler surface air from the poles. In the stratosphere the air above the equator flows toward the poles replacing the air flowing toward the equator at the surface. That means there is relatively little mixing of air between the two hemispheres. Since most CFC use occurred in the Northern Hemisphere, why did the ozone hole develop at the South Pole instead of the North Pole?

The difference between the ozone hole and climate change is that politicians will never claim they have solved climate change. We will always have extreme weather and politicians will forever clamor for more tax revenue to address the problem.

Fred Hubler

Cedar Rapids