Ask A Scientist© Environmental Science Archive

Author:     murphy iii
Text:       Rush Limbaugh has claimed on his famous radio program that ozone 
is created when long-wave radiation hits water in the upper atmosphere, 
creating diatomic hydrogen and triple bonded Oxygen. The new ozone blocks out 
this harmful radiation. Does the ozone hole self-correct this way, given 
enough time?

Response #: 1 of 1
Author:     Don Libby
Text:       Sure, given enough time - that is how we got an ozone layer in the 
first place (or so we scientists believe). As long as the rate of destruction 
is slower than (or equal to) the rate of creation, the ozone layer should stay 
in good shape. The reason that the world has agreed (with the possible 
exception of Rush) to limit the discharge of ozone-destroying chemicals is 
that our best evidence suggests that the rate of destruction is faster than 
the rate of creation, leading to a gradual thinning of the ozone layer.