The Poisoning of Our Ozone Layer
The poisoning of the Earth’s ozone layer is increasingly attracting worldwide concern for the global environment and the health effects of life on the Planet Earth. There is not just one particular cause for the ozone’s depletion; the accumulation of different pollutants into our ozone layer has all added up and equaled a worldwide problem. There is not just one effect from the poisoning of the ozone, but instead multiple ramifications from diseases to death. The damage to the ozone is increasing with every second; moreover, there are many ways we can help reduce the problem and preserve the ozone layer. Ozone is a pale blue gaseous form of oxygen, in chemical form it is also known as O3. Ozone can be beneficial or harmful depending on its location in the Earth’s atmosphere.
If the ozone is located in the troposphere (which extends from the surface of the Earth up to approxiametly10 miles) it is a harmful pollutant and a major component in smog and other environmental health problems. Such tropospheric ozone can damage plastic, rubber, plant and animal tissue. Ozone located approximately 10-25 miles above the Earth’s surface, in a part of the Earth’s atmosphere called the stratosphere is very beneficial. The ozone is a major factor that makes life possible on Earth. About 90% of the planet’s ozone is in the ozone layer. Ozone in this layer shields and filters out the Earth from 95-99 percent the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
A low level of ozone does not protect or prevent the sun’s ultraviolet rays from reaching the surface of the Earth, therefore, overexposing life on Earth causing many diseases. The depletion of the ozone is caused by many factors, but the one cause that will be elaborated on in the next paragraph is the main reason our ozone is continuously being poisoned. The major cause in the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer is because of the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons also known as CFCs, are industrially produced chemical compounds that contain the elements chlorine, fluorine, carbon, and sometimes hydrogen that will break down the protective ozone in the atmosphere.
Since CFCs are heavier than air, the process of CFCs reaching the ozone will generally take from two to five years to get into the stratosphere. When CFCs reach the stratosphere, the sun’s ultraviolet radiation cause them to break apart.
The ozone layer is the one that protects living things from the pure ultraviolet rays of the sun.
15.2) The accumulation of chlorofluorocarbons is responsible for depleting the atmospheric zone. The atmospheric zone has changed in concentration due to human activity. The CFCs release chlorine atoms which react with ozone reducing it to molecular O₂. Following chemical reactions release the chlorine which reacts with other ozone molecules in a catalytic chain reaction. The ozone layer is getting thinner and thinner as stable air at places such as Antarctica allows reaction to continue. The accumulation of CFCs has led to increased UV radiation in sunlight reaching the earth thereby decreasing ozone levels. The global temperature has increased.
These conditions include: (a) Precipitation can reduce photochemical smog as the pollutants are washed out of the atmosphere with the rainfall.(b) Winds can transfer photochemical smog away, replacing it with fresh air. However, the problem may arise in distant areas that receive the pollution. (c)Temperature inversions can enhance the severity of a photochemical smog episode. If a temperature inversion is developed, the pollutants can be trapped near the Earth's surface. Inversions can last from a few days to several weeks. The atmosphere temperature directly affects the reaction rates and some emission rates.
“In 2008, 21,000 Canadians died from the effects of air pollution.”(Geduld) Although most of these deaths are from long term exposure to the pollutants there was still “2,682 deaths caused from short term exposure.”(Geduld).“5.5 percent of cardiopulmonary (heart and lung disease related) deaths can be attributed to ground-level ozone exposure, which has increased over the past decade.” (David Suzuki Foundation)
Stratospheric ozone absorbs 97-99% of ultraviolet radiation. As this protective layer continues to dissentigrate, human health will suffer. One American dies every hour from skin cancer, a direct result of ozone depletion by anthropogenic chemicals, primarily CFCs, which damage the ozone layer. Alternate chemicals are now being used in the place of CFCs that will not damage statospheric ozone, and there is international recognition of the importance of developing these chemicals. The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty which limits the production of ozone depleting substances. Still, human health is at risk from the deletion of ozone, and the risk factor will continue to rise unless people and industries become more aware of the implications connected with everyday use of chemicals which destroy stratospheric ozone.
The drought increases the likelihood of wildfires, which release harmful smoke into the air. The California drought produces many harmful substances, which affect air quality and harm human health. Ozone is the principal component of smog and it is dangerous at ground level, which affects human health, crops, and buildings. Ozone smog is formed when vehicle and factory pollution react with sunlight and heat (Climate Change, 2007).
From the day-to-day use of CFC’s (Chloro fluoro carbons) and other depletion substances the ozone wears off more and more. These substances are referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). They are usually found in chemicals and as a result of causing depletion in the ozone layer, cause skin cancer and disorder in humans and animals as well. CFC’s are used as coolers in refrigerators, and air conditioners. They used to be used in car air conditioners until 1995, when it was discovered the CFS’s were depleting the ozone. Industrially, they are found in solvents and sometimes in dry cleaning agents. Furthermore, cleaning agents, foam insulation and packaging materials are also known to aid in the ozone depletion.
Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the reason for the planet as it is today; the reason why we see campaigns flooding the media informing us to ‘switch off’, ‘save the planet’ and ‘turn down the heat’ and the reason why the government is trying to develop a successful scheme, such as the carbon tax scheme, to reduce air pollution caused by major industries. Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the two immediate causes of global warming and climate change. Air pollution occurs when chemicals or particulate matter enter the atmosphere. They can cause damage to living organisms on the planet, as well as destruction to the natural and synthetic environment (Energy Environment.net 2008). Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation emitted from the earth. They trap infrared radiation in the form of heat, and hence contribute to global warming. Anthropogenic greenhouse gases are a direct result of air pollution. They are the physical gases emitted that cause air pollution. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases also have an influence on the earth’s atmosphere, though it is not as conspicuous as anthropogenic causes. Together, air pollution and greenhouse gases are intensifying climate change and global warming on a world-wide basis.
Air pollution is caused by many things such as car fumes, burning of fossil fuels,
In 1970, Crutzen first showed that nitrogen oxides produced by decaying nitrous oxide from soil-borne microbes react catalytically with ozone hastening its depletion. His findings started research on "global biogeochemical cycles" as well as the effects of supersonic transport aircraft that release nitrogen oxide into the stratosphere.2 In 1974, Molina and Rowland found that human-made chlorofluorocarbons used for making foam, cleaning fluids, refrigerants, and repellents transform into ozone-depleting agents.3 Chlorofluorocarbons stay in the atmosphere for several decades due to their long tropospheric lifetimes. These compounds are carried into the stratosphere where they undergo hundreds of catalytic cycles with ozone.4 They are broken down into chlorine atoms by ultraviolet radiation.5 Chlorine acts as the catalyst for breaking down atomic oxygen and molecular ozone into two molecules of molecular oxygen.
society today. The CFC cans used to be a serious problem to the ozone layer,
gasses and become trapped in the atmosphere. Some of the most common greenhouse gasses are
...rbon dioxide, hazardous chemicals, and other pollutants, which can put a hole in the ozone. Also, the usage of some mineral resources can also pollute the air; burning any kind of fuel fossils releases dangerous elements into the air, such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. All of these kinds of pollution which are caused by the increase of technology, can lead to global environmental problems.
The environmental issue that I’ve chosen is air pollution. Air Pollution is a huge environmental issue not only in the United States but all over the world. I picked this issue because of the affect that it has on our entire world. This is a highly important issue that people should be aware of because of the huge effect it has on practically everyone. In my essay I will address what air pollution is and how it starts, I will talk about which cities have high pollution verses cities with low pollution, what’s being done to change, and the affect it has on humans, animals, and our earth.
Global warming is an increase in the earth's temperature due to fossil fuels, industry, and agricultural processes caused by human, natural, and other gas emissions. This results in an increased evacuation of greenhouse gases. “Short-wave solar radiation sinks into the Earth's atmosphere and warms its surface while long-wave infrared radiation emitted by earth's surface is absorbed, and then re-emitted by trace gases.” (2)