Environmental Impacts
As previously discussed, CFCs were phased out via the Montreal Protocol due to their part in ozone depletion. However, the atmospheric impacts of CFCs are not limited to its role as an active ozone reducer. This anthropogenic compound is also a greenhouse gas, with a much higher potential to enhance the greenhouse effect than CO2.
Infrared bands trap heat from escaping earth's atmosphere. In the case of CFCs, the strongest of these bands are located at the spectral region – referred to as an atmospheric window due to the relative transparency of the atmosphere within this region. The strength of CFC bands and the unique susceptibility of the atmosphere, at which the compound absorbs and emits radiation, are two factors that contribute to CFCs' "super" greenhouse effect. Another such factor is the low concentration of the compound. Because CO2 is close to saturation with high concentrations, it takes more of the substance to enhance the greenhouse effect. Conversely, the low concentration of CFCs allow their effects to increase linearly with mass.
Read more about this topic: Chlorofluorocarbon
Famous quotes containing the word impacts:
“We are no longer in a state of growth; we are in a state of excess. We are living in a society of excrescence.... The boil is growing out of control, recklessly at cross purposes with itself, its impacts multiplying as the causes disintegrate.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)