Got hold of a new tidbit that I found interesting.  The Ozone Layer’s hole, which is closing, is now being reported as “causing global warming”.

<Insert Homer Simpson’s “D’oh!” here.>

From ScienceDaily:

ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2010) – The hole in the ozone layer is now steadily closing, but its repair could actually increase warming in the southern hemisphere, according to scientists at the University of Leeds. 

The Antarctic ozone hole was once regarded as one of the biggest environmental threats, but the discovery of a previously undiscovered feedback shows that it has instead helped to shield this region from carbon-induced warming over the past two decades.

The lessons here are almost endless.

1) They discovered a “hole” in the Ozone layer, and then freaked the whole planet out with dire warnings of apocalyptic natural catastrophe.  Sound familiar?

We came up with tons of new regulations, forced products off the market, tried to change the natural phenomena through legislation.

Then 30 years later:

“Well, I’ll be…  Look at that!  An undiscovered feedback!  Well, that’s changes the whole picture!”

Lesson #1:  We don’t know enough about what we’re dealing with.

2) The results of the freak out over a misunderstood phenomena, if the Man-Made Global Warming crowd is to be believed?

We shot ourselves in the foot.

Actually, in a scrumptious mouth-full of irony from the Gods, being Green, and trying to help close the Ozone Layer hole, is part of the reason global warming is happening.

The action of trying to “save the planet” is helping kill it.

Nice.

Lesson #2: Everyone remain calm.  We, as humans, do screw up every now and then.  No matter how much we like to think we know everything, we don’t.

Why waste trillions trying to combat a “problem” that may actually not be a “problem”?

3) We were all in a tizzy over the Ozone layer years ago.  Nothing ever came of it.  The Earth didn’t grind to a halt.

Today, it’s mentioned as “once regarded as one of the biggest environmental threats”.

Like the swine flu that didn’t kill us all.

The nuclear bombs that never rained down on the country.

Lesson #3: What scares the hell out of you today may not scare the hell out of you tomorrow.

I could go on, because this is a fascinating case study, but who needs to read more?  Our history, as a race, is full of spontaneous bouts of panic with little in the way of knowledge or facts.  Whenever you hear someone preaching all doom and gloom, take it with a grain of salt and keep a smile on your face.  Those people are wrong much more often than they’re right.  The odds are in your favor.

(Hat tip: My mom)

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