Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 12:49

Hi Mr. Botella! My name is Noah and I am in Mr. Wood's 4th period science class at Talbert Middle School. What does c.f.c. mean? How many of these expeditions have you been on.? Was it hard living on a boat? I've only been on been on a cruze and I'm assuming it is very different!

Thank You! I hope to hear back from you soon.

-Noah Glass

Juan Botella

Hi Noah, thanks for writing. CFC means Chlorofluorocarbon, and it is the name given
to gases manufactured by humans for industrial purposes. They have
chlorine, fluorine and carbon among other elements. We used them for
refrigeration and spray cans, among other things.
I have participated in different research projects in my life, but none
this long and to such a remote area. It is not hard living in a boat when
you have something to do. People who have nothing to do find it boring, but
I am keeping busy with the journal, creating videos, interviewing people,
and participating in the sampling process. Yes, our cruise is very
different from vacation cruises. Everybody is working a lot. There are no
pools or elegant places for dinner. No sunbathing or anything like that. It
is a lot of fun, though.
Thanks for writing,
Juan.