Speaking of pollution...
by SouthernFriedInfidel | Published on April 18th, 2008, 11:21 am | Life
I recall many years ago having a conversation with a neighbor (back when I lived in a neighborhood where neighbors actually in fact TALKED among themselves) about the ozone problem. This lady was pleasant, and had a pretty good grip on most subjects, but sometimes I had to wonder where she got some ideas. One day, we were chatting about the news of the day, the ozone hole. She said, "I'll tell you where the problem with the ozone is -- it's all those rockets they keep firing through it!"
I was startled. "Are you serious?"
"Yes! Just look at all those chemicals they use in launching the space shuttle!"
I said, "First off... they only have something like 5 or 6 launches a year. Second, you know what the vast majority of that cloud that comes out the tail of the shuttle is?"
"Has to be something awfully toxic," she said.
I shook my head. "The main tank holds just oxygen and hydrogen, so what you get out is pretty much all water. The solid boosters on the sides are the only things that don't put out water."
Still, I couldn't get her to realize that rockets -- if they contributed anything to the ozone hole problem -- had very little effect compared to CFC's in aerosol cans used by millions of people around the world.
Weird...
