The belief that humans are causing climate change is a crock according to Matt Walsh. Acid rain and holes in the ozone layer disappeared in the past and the Daily Wire columnist knows that.
When they told us to panic over the hole in the ozone layer and then stopped talking about it, nobody talked about it again. Walsh said that it was back during the time when school children were scared of acid rain.
It's true that you don't hear much about acid rain anymore, and discussions about humanity's tendency to metaphorically kick the planet in the groin have largely moved away from the ozone layer. The ozone hole can still be found if you know where to look.
Walsh could take this to mean that acid rain and holes in the ozone layer simply went away on their own, and that the current fears about climate change are also incorrect.
AdvertisementThis wouldn't be the right way to handle things. Acid rain and ozone layer holes have been dealt with. Efforts to fight environmental issues have been successful. Most of the time.
Acid rain is produced when various chemicals like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere. The airborne compounds mix with water and fall to the ground, corroding metals and other materials used for buildings.
Acid rain can cause serious problems in areas that use coal to generate electricity. It's no longer an issue in the US and other areas because many governments took action.
The amount of sulfur dioxide raining down decreased by 40 percent in the northeastern US after the US Congress strengthened emission regulations. The US has seen a reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions. International agreements were negotiated in an effort to curb the issue. The fight against acid rain was the greatest green success story of the decade. Acid rain isn't as much of a problem.
In the 1980's, scientists were dismayed to discover that human activity was degrading the ozone layer. There was a hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole. The hole was traced back to certain gases that were widely used in the 1980s.
AdvertisementThe ozone layer helps protect the Earth by absorbing radiation at certain wavelength and allowing more UV radiation from the Sun in. This increases the levels of UV damage living things experience, increases the rates of skin cancer, and possibly leads to a general increase in the number of mutations.
Governments took action due to the hole in the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol was adopted in 1987 in order to protect the ozone layer. There was a staggered phase-out schedule for some countries and the creation of a fund to give some countries money.
Like acid rain, the problem hasn't been completely solved. The ozone hole grew to its 13th largest on record. The trends are positive.
Even if they were a big deal back in the day, they are no longer problems because of the mistakes made by the scientific community. Neither is false. Climate change, ozone layer depletion, and acid rain are all real problems. Thanks to some successful efforts, the former two are less of a problem.
Walsh ignores a lot of history and ignores a lot of scientific literature. That doesn't excuse this sort of blatant error, even though it's hard to get historic context in a twit.
Walsh has over one million followers on the social networking site. His comments are likely to have a significant effect on people's perception.
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