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Show - Page C12 THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, Thursday, October 13, 1994 Ozone hole still huge, butt not worsening, scientists say By MARK JAFFE Knight-Ridde- r Newspapers The menacing ozone hole over Antarctica remains large and deep, but it's no longer getting worse, according to NASA. The loss of the essential atmospheric gas appears to have leveled off. Nevertheless, top atmospheric scientists warn that the Earth is now entering, the decade in which the planet will be exposed to the greatest dose of the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation. "We will feel the greatest impact of ozone depletion over the next 10 years and then, as the ozone layer repairs itself, the situation will improve," said Daniel Albritton, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's aeronomy lab. Albritton said, however, that it would not be until near the end of the next century that the breakdown in the Earth's ozone a naturally occurring gaseous layer in the stratosphere is completely repaired. Exposure to elevated levels of ultraviolet radiation, researchers caution, could lead to an increase in the number of cases of skin can cer and adversely affect vegetation and wildlife. One of the first signs that the ozone layer was in trouble was the hole in the ozone, discovered in the early 1980s, over Antarctica. Ever since, scientists have carefully measured the frigid continent's ozone each year. The 1994 results, measured by satellites, were a mixture of good news and bad news. "The pattern of ozone loss is much the same as it was last year, ' ' said Jay Herman, a NASA researcher. That means that while the levels remained at a record low, the loss appears to have leveled off. In fact, the size of the hole nine million square miles, an area has reequal to North America mained relatively stable since 1992. The principal cause of ozone depletion has been manufactured chemicals called CFCs These chemical their way up worked compounds about 70 into the stratosphere miles above the planet's surface and released chlorine, which de(chloro-fluorocarbon- stroyed the fragile ozone. In 1987, an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol began the phaseout of these chemicals. "The Montreal Protocol is an example of blending of science and public policy," Albritton said. The problem, he explained, is that even though CFCs and related compounds have been virtually abandoned by most industrial nad tions, these gaseous, chemicals remain in the atmosphere. , long-live- So even with the Montreal Protocol, chlorine is expected to continue to rise in the atmosphere, and ozone is expected to decrease at least for a few more years. An international scientific assessment of ozone done for the United Nations in August predicted that the chlorine peak will be reached in 1998 and that, compared with levels in the 1960s, the Earth should experience a 12 per- cent ozone decline over North America during the winter. That would be about 2.5 percent less ozone than current levels. "After that, we should see steady improvement," Albritton said. "But we are going to be holding our breath during the next 10 years." Demonstrator spends 14 years outside White House By JEREMY WALLACE Knight-Ridde- r Newspapers - If world WASHINGTON there is ever achieved, may peace be no person more relieved than Concepcion Picciotto. 14 years Picciotto hasn't in a bed, had the luxury of her slept For own bathroom, or had a safe haven from the elements. But her tale is batnot one told from the war-tor- n tlefields of Bosnia or Rwanda. She has spent these hard years on Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's .... iK'zmffirsif ftMtmeiBMiHv ...... 'mw- vsflfm 100 horns equity loans capital. Almost every hour of every day since 1981, Picciotto has demon- - strated outside the gates of the White House warning passing tourists about the dangers of war and nuclear weapons. "If I'm not here who would do this?" Picciotto asked. "This is something I can do for all of humanity." Her latest speech decries the U.S. involvement in Haiti and the U.S. response to Iraqi troops massing on the Kuwaiti border. "It's all about money," Picciot- (ft) J 2 to said. "It's not Hussein that is causing this, it is the U.S. and their greed for oil." Over the years she has been ar'. rested eight times for violating laws regulating protests near the approvedin 30minutes White House grounds. Some of the rules she must live with include not walking more than 10 feet from her signs, not sleeping while lying down and making signs no bigger than 6 feet tall. If she breaks the rules the police are almost always there to fine her $50 or to cart her to jail. "They are very cruel," Picciotto said. "They just want to make it hard on me because I speak free- - iy" , Picciotto says she is 48 years old and a native of Spain with no family in the United States or any kind of job to return to. She doesn't know why she would ever stop her vigil. "I can't do anything for a child of my own, so I decided to do something for all the children of the world," Picciotto said. She survives on the contributions tourists give her. Friends she has made during her vigil often bring food to her. If they don't she relies on the food handed out by over the phone homeless shelters to the other homeless men and women who wander through Lafayette Park, across from th . hite House. The only eruptions in her days are 'J i occasional sprints to the bathroom at a nearby Hardee's. "I wish I had someone here more regularly so I could go to the bathroom more often," said Picciotto. who is reluctant to leave her belongings even for a few minutes. The worst times, she says, are the lonely winter nights when she stands knee deep in snow and ice. "All winters are bad, but last winter was the worst one ever," she said. To keep warm, she bundles up in several layers of clothing and smothers herself in i'"" mdaeceoc3d through yss&WiSSL '; , blankets. When the rain hits, she turns to the plastic tarps she keeps nearby. In all seasons she wears a large wig and crash helmet. People have thrown bottles at her and tried to damage or destroy her signs on many occasions. However, she said she would never be frightened away, because her mission is from a higher authority. "I have put my entire life into this, and I won't stop until God wants me to," Picciotto said. Before God called her to the White House, she did her lobbying outside the United Nations. She disdains all governments and political leaders. "They are all crooks, she said simply in her Spanish accent. 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