3 research outputs found
Correlation between age and handgrip strength (kg).
<p>a) males, left hands; b) males, right hands; c) females, left hands; d) females, right hands.</p
Chilling Prospect: Climate Change Effects of Mismanaged Refrigerants in China
The global community has responded
to the dual threats of ozone
depletion and climate change from refrigerant emissions (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons,
CFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs) in refrigerators and air conditioners
(RACs) by agreeing to phase out the production of the most damaging
chemicals and replacing them with substitutes. Since these refrigerants
are “banked” in products during their service life,
they will continue to impact our environment for decades to come if
they are released due to mismanagement at the end of life. Addressing
such long-term impacts of refrigerants requires a dynamic understanding
of the RACs’ life cycle, which was largely overlooked in previous
studies. Based on field surveys and a dynamic model, we reveal the
lingering ozone depletion potential (ODP) and significant global warming
potential (GWP) of scrap refrigerants in China, the world’s
largest producer (62%) and consumer (46%) of RACs in 2015, which comes
almost entirely from air conditioners rather than refrigerators. If
the use and waste management of RACs continue with the current trend,
the total GWP of scrap refrigerants in China will peak by 2025 at
a level of 135.2 ± 18.9 Mt CO<sub>2</sub>e (equal to approximately
1.2% ± 0.2% of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions
or the national total of either The Netherlands and Czech Republic
in 2015). Our results imply an urgent need for improving the recycling
and waste management of RACs in China