ers earing expense of ozone scare German scientists contend that CFCs do little to harm earth’s ozone layer - AUTOMOTION " THERE is considerable “disagreement in the scientific - “community about the effects. - of CFCs (chlorofluorocar- bons) on the, ozone layer. ... .. The'ozone layer —- a 10 oy © kilometre-thick gaseous layer 25 kilometres above the earth's sur- « . face — protects living organisms ~ from the harmful effects of the “ sun’s ‘ultraviolet rays... : Tbe popular: scientifi ic view is: , that an increasing arnount.of .~ “CFCs emitted from such: things as. Tefrigerators and vehicle air-con- : ditioning systems are responsible ‘for an increase in the size of the ‘ozone holes over the north and Most. wanted ‘car not a car -at all, says. new survey THE” CAR voted |: most desirable:. by. -Canadians, according toa recent Survey, 'is not a car at: all: : “In| the’ Canadian: Automobile | Association’s annual nation-wide Vehicle Durability Survey; Cana- 7 dians were asked what model car - they planned to buy next.’ - With over 200 models to choose ; ‘from, the ‘‘Most Wanted”’ vehicle was the’ Dodge: Caravan minivan (including the: Plymouth Voyager/Town and Country). The minivan, gathering 6.2% of the 27,778 votes, edged out last year’s most wanied. winner, the . Honda Accord. -.. The Top 10 list is dominated by Ford (four models), and Chrysler, - Honda and Toyota (two each). The list includes © 1, Dodge Caravan. ® 2. Honda Accord. © 3, Toyota Camry. e 4, Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. © 5, Toyota Corolla. '.¢ 6, Ford LTD Crown Victoria. ¢ 7. Honda Civic. © 8, Chrysier 5th Avenue. ‘e 9, Ford Tempo. ¢ 10. Ford Bronco. “The results of this survey clearly show how Canadians are changing their view of what a ‘car’ is,’? said CAA president Michael McNeil. ‘‘The trend. we saw fast year continues, and. that is to more domestic vehicles, with emphasis on space and price.” - Later this, month, CAA will be releasing the findings of a survey ‘on what used car Canadians perceive as the most reliable. south poles. The holes in the ozone Jayer are being blamed for increases in skin cancer, eye diseases, weakening immune systems, and damage to plant and sea life. According to an international agreement, called the Montreal Protocol, to eliminate substances that harm the ozone layer, CFCs will be banned worldwide by 1995. Automobile air-conditioning units account for eight per cent of global CFC usage, ard vehicle manufacturers are rapidly swit- ching from freon R12 refrigerant to chlorine-free R134a. CFCs are made up of chlorine, fluoride and carbon. The chlorine atoms are what destroys the ‘ozone. The switch-over has cast vehicle manufacturers millions of dollars in development costs, and of - course, that is being passed on to 1993 TOYOTA T the consumer, In addition, service shops have had to buy expensive new equip- ment to reclaim freon (R12), and new parts and equipment to ser- vice the new air-conditioning systems, Vehicle owners with air-condi- tioning units that use R12 freon may secon be faced with an acute shortage of freon, if it is not ban- ned altogether. H it’s not banned, it’s likely to be very expensive. If it is banned, consumers may have to bear the cost of having their air conditioners converted to use R134a. , But is this expense really neces- sary? In their book, The Holes in the Ozone Scare, German physicist Ralf Schauerhammer and geologist Rogelio Maduro contend that CFCs do very fittle to harm the RCEL 4 Door, automatic, AM/FM cassette, full factory equipment 110, SELECT USED CARS ‘93 TOYOTA PASEO ONLY Coupe, auto, sunroof, spotless. $13,888 ’88 FORD TAURUS ONLY 1 Owner, N.S. car, 50,000 rig. niles. $6,995 ‘84 HONDA ACCORD _ onty 1 Owner,