On the occasion of Ozone Day (September 16), UNDP (United Nations Development Program) office in Iran and the country’s Office for Protection of Ozone Layer released a video clip cautioning against adverse effects of HCFCs.
HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) are widely used in the refrigeration, foam, solvent, aerosol and firefighting sectors. HCFCs are also used as feedstock (raw material) in the production of other chemical agents.
Although having considerably lower ozone depleting potentials than CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons), many HCFCs have high global warming potential -- up to 2,000 times that of carbon dioxide.
The video clip is a short animation produced by Nas Animation Studio based in Tehran. It is part of ‘Dirin Dirin’ animation series including 70-second episodes shown daily on Pouya channel of state-owned TV, according to the website of United Nations Iran (un.org.ir).
In Dirin Dirin, primitive cartoon characters encounter issues of the day in an ironically modern setting. In this special episode commissioned to create awareness about HCFCs, an ignorant repairman irresponsibly tampers with a fridge and releases the hazardous gas into the air. The final scene of the animation shows the characters standing under a sky with a broken part representing the hole in the Ozone layer.
Dirin Dirin is directed by skilled caricaturist Ali Derakhshi and dubbed by veteran vocalist and actor Mohammad Reza Alimardani. The title literally means ‘old times’ and is a metaphorical reference to the era which the characters belong, that is, olden times. It is compatible with the funny and distorted Persian archaic language used in the dialogues.
Healthy diets, protection of the environment, including rivers and water bodies, are among the topics the animation seeks to focus on.
Dirin Dirin is not specified to any special age group. It puts focus on social, cultural, ethical, and behavioral norms and sends critical messages with a touch of humor so that people can at least partially change their unhealthy lifestyles.
September 16 was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the ‘International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer’. The designation was announced on December 19, 2000, in commemoration of the date, in 1987, on which nations signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
