Ever hear of the Montreal Protocol? While the intentions to protect the earth’s Ozone layer seemed reasonable at the time, the fact is that the so called “adjustments” to the original “protocol” have not been embraced or complied with by much of the world.
The Montreal Protocol includes a unique adjustment provision that enables the Parties to the Protocol to respond quickly to new scientific information and agree to accelerate the reductions required on chemicals already covered by the Protocol. These adjustments are then automatically applicable to all countries that ratified the Protocol. Since its initial adoption, the Montreal Protocol has been adjusted five times. Specifically, the Second, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh and Nineteenth Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. From the United Nations
There are strict limits on how much HCFC-22, used in older air-conditioners can be imported or sold in the United States by American manufacturers. in 2009, Carlos Garcia, the Marcone vice president was arrested for importing the gas. So while China India and everyone else uses this cheap chemical, the United States once again hog ties itself, forcing us to buy new air conditioners. Sound familiar? Here we go:
Although it has been illegal to sell new air-conditioners containing HCFC-22 in the United States since 2010, vast quantities of the gas are still needed to service old machines. Importing HCFC-22 without the needed approvals, as Marcone did, violates international treaties and United States law and regulations.
On June 26, Mr. Garcia was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison.
The dwindling supply has led to pronounced spikes in price. What once cost retailers like Marcone $55 a canister was by 2009 going for $140 in the United States. By reducing the supply of the coolant and encouraging prices to rise, the United States government hoped to force manufacturers and consumers to scrap old machines and invest in more environmentally friendly, if more expensive, alternatives. But it has not worked out that way, especially in recessionary times when people hang on to old appliances and search for cheap shortcuts.
In the meantime, the price of legitimately obtained gas has been rising in the United States and throughout Europe. That is because governments of industrialized nations, to comply with the ozone treaty known as the Montreal Protocol, restrict the use of the environmentally damaging gas in various ways. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency requires that companies obtain a license to make, sell or buy specific amounts of HCFC-22, with such “allowances” decreasing year by year.
Much of the global air-conditioning industry relies on the gas the way the auto industry does on gasoline. But while oil is getting harder to find and more expensive, HCFC-22 is becoming more abundant and remaining cheap on the global market Full story at theNew York Tines
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