Eli5: how can earth ozone layers heal itself even with our high pollution level?
In: 5
Because it’s only specific pollutants that caused most of the damage to the ozone layer. Greenhouse gases like CO2 have little to no effect on ozone. The majority of the damage caused to the ozone layer came from [CFC’s](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorofluorocarbon) or Chlorofluorocarbon. When CFC’s were first introduced they were widely used as a refrigerant and in aerosols because it is easy to compress and has a very low boiling point. Aerosol cans dump out all their refrigerant when used, and Freon in air conditioners and refrigerators can leak out slowly over time. Our atmosphere naturally produces some ozone from things like lightning, so switching to other chemicals for those uses can allow for ozone to be replenished. There’s a lot of benefit to having safer chemical with really low boiling points, heat pumps can heat a home even in winter because they use a refrigerant that boils well below the outside air temp.
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