[extropy-chat] Re: Ethics and evolution

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Technotranscendence
...
> 
> I've heard about that too, but the data on the ozone hole seems
> ambiguous.  However, in that case, were you knowingly lying to people
> about it or just saying, "Well, they pay me to convert these systems,
> but I really think it's a crock."?

In our case, we were losing access to freon, since
they were halting production.  So regardless of its
effect on the ozone or my opinion of it, we faced
a very real-life situation where we needed to redo a 
buuuunch of industrial processes.  No one was arguing
that we needed to find new ways to do old tasks.

We all realized, regardless of our attitude
toward ozone depleting chemicals, that freon is
great stuff.  Most of the replacements never worked
as well as freon, which is a terrific solvent,
clean, non toxic, predictable, good stuff.  Remember
cars from years about 1988 to 1991?  The paint
didn't stick right for those years.  Many of the
American cars from then have needed repainting.

Here is the punchline: freon was used in the insulation
on the space shuttle external tank.  There have been
rumblings that the foam has been peeling off to a
greater extent since freon was phased out of the
process.  It is possible that phasing out freon
is what caused the loss of Columbia.

spike