<OT>We are going to be in trouble

[Tony Alfrey]

Keith Antoine wrote:
<snip>
> 
> The outlook is not brilliant whichever way they go. We have just been 
> told that the hole over antartic had grown bigger than ever and is 
> depleteing ozone. One outcome of this is we are now getting daily 
> warnings of ultra violet A and B levels, also told if we do not wear 
> protection the burn rate is now less than 12 mins. NZ is down to 9.
> What is this going to do to the environment and the Reef ?

I'm not a biologist.  But distilled water is pretty transparent to UV A 
and B.  Sea water varies in opacity depending on dissolved particulates 
and organic matter.  In general, I would guess that if the water is 
clear enough for you to see the reef, then UV will affect the reef (i.e. 
the life forms in the reef).  Must be some biologists on the list?

Keith, old boy, I would say that you might be generally a bit more 
pessimistic than the next guy about stuff in general, but your 
description certainly sounds serious.  And you're right about not 
getting this sort of description in the papers in the US (like others on 
the list, I too do not watch the news on TV, but prefer the NY Times, 
that bastion of us evil liberals).




-- 
Tony Alfrey
tonyalfrey at earthlink.net
"I'd Rather Be Sailing"