OZONE LAYER DEPLETION

The ozone layer protects all life from the suns ultraviolet
rays as well as keeping in enough warmth to sustain life on
Earth.
Ozone layer depletion is a major topic that has recently
become a world issue that 100’s of countries are taking into
consideration to try and make our Earth a better, more livable
place.

So what is the ozone layer?

The Earths atmosphere is separated into a number of levels
known as spheres. The level that the Earths core and all of its
life is in is known as the troposphere. The troposphere extends
from the earths surface about 10 kilometers or so. The next
level, the stratosphere goes from around 10 km. to around
50km. another name for the stratosphere is the ozone layer.
This is the layer of ozone which is a molecule made up of three
parts of oxygen. Ozone molecules are constantly being formed
and destroyed and other ones are put in its place. A lot of
things factor into the size and width of the ozone layer at any
particular time such as weather, season and latitude and
longitude. Scientist have records that date back hundreds of
years of the ozone layer high and low points based on the
yearly patterns.

Manufactured chemicals are the biggest cause of ozone

layer depletion. The most common and destructive one is
known as chlorofluorocarbons or (CFC’s). CFC’s are a very
useful and highly practical substance that is used in many
ways for industrial commercial and for household items. CFC’s
are non-toxic, non-flammable, and non reactive with other
chemical compounds. CFC’s have been considered the
“miracle substance” for all of its many uses and for its safety
characteristics. Some of its uses are as coolants for
refrigerators, aerosol propellants, electronic cleaning solvents
and blowing agents.

But in 1973, scientists discovered that chlorine was a

key factor in ozone destruction. The CFC’s would go up into
the stratosphere and would destroy the oxygen (ozone) in the
atmosphere and just leave chlorine in its place, which does
next to nothing in stopping harmful UV rays.
This is very harmful to us because without the ozone
layer to absorb most of the suns rays, we have nothing to
protect us from having our Earth cooked up more than
roasted marshmallow.

There is a chemical aspect of ozone layer depletion. When

Ultra Violet light (UV) hits chlorofluorocarbon CFCs) molecules
in the stratosphere, a carbon-chlorine bond breaks which
leaves a chlorine (Cl) atom, The chlorine atom then reacts with
an ozone molecule, breaking it and thus destroying the ozone
layer.

CFCl3 + UV -> CFCl2 + Cl

Cl + O3 -> ClO + O2
ClO + O -> Cl + O2
 The health and environmental impact of ozone layer
depletion is drastic. The reduction of ozone levels will result in
more UV rays reaching the Earth’s surface. The cataclysmic
results that will follow are just huge. Global warming and
climate change are just two of the many factors that will be
affected by ozone layer depletion. As the suns UV rays reach
Earth, they cook up the Earth’s core more and more. Global
temperatures increase and the polar ice caps start to melt
which in turn makes the water levels rise. Many of these
situations that seem very far-fetched are happening right now
all over the world. Ozone layer depletion is a huge problem
that must be fixed.

The effects of ozone layer depletion and global warming

and not just limited to humans, as there is a big effect on
animals and plants alike. Animals and plants are affected as
well because as global temperatures get warmer, areas that
were once inhabitable, can no longer sustain the life that it
used to be able to. Temperatures increase and whole eco-zones
change with the heat. Plants will die and major bio-domes may
be lost forever. Many animals that rely on these habitats may
go extinct, as they have nowhere to live. With whole animal
and plant species being lost, many other animals that need
these to sustain their own lives will become extinct as well,
resulting in a massive chain of death and destruction in the
animal kingdom as well as our own.

Ever since the causes of ozone layer depletion have been

discovered, solutions were placed into effect to try and reduce
and eliminate the problems. The U.S. Clean Air Act and the
Montreal Protocols addressed the problems internationally and
got countries worldwide to acknowledge ozone layer depletion
as a threat to humanity and tray and stop it. The goal of the
treaties was to stop the damage of ozone destruction by
removing its main contributor-CFCs- from our use.
Much is being done about this problem, such as
countries promising to stop using CFCs and by countries
educating consumers about what is inside the products they
buy and by making rules about products that companies use.
Although the government is doing all it can to stop ozone layer
depletion, we as humans can do more. We must be aware of
the products we buy and make sure that they have been
approved by your local government. Since animals rely on
humans to take care of them and not to destroy our precious
world that sustains so much variety of life, each and every
human should do their best to help. We have only one Earth.

ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART?