Cancer, skin disease, plants and wildlife all around us dying, the ozone hole is dangerous and the threat is real. The hole in the ozone layer has the potential to cause mass damage to the Earth. The Antarctic region is devastated due to the exposure to ultraviolet light and the climate across the world has begun to shift. Due to the harmful impact humans have has on the environment, this even could cause a major catastrophe for the earth and its inhabitants. The ozone is a layer of gas in the atmosphere that protects all living things on the Earth from ultraviolet rays produced by the Sun; these rays are very harmful to the earth and its inhabitants. The ozone absorbs 97-99% of the Suns high frequency of UV rays (101 2014). Without this layer
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Ultraviolet Radiation is one of the energy’s that the sun emits and there are three main types of UV rays. There are UVA rays that are also emitted from tanning beds and can cause skin cancers and premature skin wrinkling. UVB rays have a bit more energy than UVA. These rays damage skin cells directly and are the main cause for most skin cancers. This is also the UV ray that is responsible for sunburns. The Third is UVC rays and they have the most energy of all the UV rays. They, however, cannot reach earth since they cannot break through out atmosphere; they are also not apart of sunlight. (Rosen 2015) These UV rays strength all depend greatly on different factors. UV rays are strongest between 10am and 4pm in the spring and summer months. UV exposure also decreases as the distance from the equator increases. UV rays are more common at higher elevations and they can also bounce off of surfaces such as snow, water, pavement, even grass can increase the amount of UV exposure. Cloud cover from UV rays can very. Some clouds block out some the harmful rays were others can reflect and amplify the exposure to UV (Chipperfield …show more content…
There are efforts to reduce the damage done to our zone and one of them is the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol is a worldwide agreement that was drawn up in September of 1987. Its original intent was to half the use of CFCs by 1999. CFCs are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals that contain atoms of carbon, fluorine, and chlorine, they are used in the aerosol sprays, blowing components for packing and foam materials, and used as refrigerants. Each chlorine atom from CFC compound has the ability to destroy up to 10,000 molecules of the ozone (Hodgson 2004). However, reviews of the protocol held in varying countries during the early 1990s enforced more intense controls, so that all production of CFCs would be banned by the year 2000. Many countries have agreed to stop the use of CFCs before this date. The production of other ozone destroying gases is aimed to be stop in the early 2000s. The ozone hole will not disappear immediately, unfortunately, since CFCs are very stable gases and they will remain in the atmosphere for possibly decades after release before they begin to deplete (Welch
Ultraviolet Radiation is one of the energy’s that the sun emits and there are three main types of UV rays. There are UVA rays that are also emitted from tanning beds and can cause skin cancers and premature skin wrinkling. UVB rays have a bit more energy than UVA. These rays damage skin cells directly and are the main cause for most skin cancers. This is also the UV ray that is responsible for sunburns. The Third is UVC rays and they have the most energy of all the UV rays. They, however, cannot reach earth since they cannot break through out atmosphere; they are also not apart of sunlight. (Rosen 2015) These UV rays strength all depend greatly on different factors. UV rays are strongest between 10am and 4pm in the spring and summer months. UV exposure also decreases as the distance from the equator increases. UV rays are more common at higher elevations and they can also bounce off of surfaces such as snow, water, pavement, even grass can increase the amount of UV exposure. Cloud cover from UV rays can very. Some clouds block out some the harmful rays were others can reflect and amplify the exposure to UV (Chipperfield …show more content…
There are efforts to reduce the damage done to our zone and one of them is the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol is a worldwide agreement that was drawn up in September of 1987. Its original intent was to half the use of CFCs by 1999. CFCs are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals that contain atoms of carbon, fluorine, and chlorine, they are used in the aerosol sprays, blowing components for packing and foam materials, and used as refrigerants. Each chlorine atom from CFC compound has the ability to destroy up to 10,000 molecules of the ozone (Hodgson 2004). However, reviews of the protocol held in varying countries during the early 1990s enforced more intense controls, so that all production of CFCs would be banned by the year 2000. Many countries have agreed to stop the use of CFCs before this date. The production of other ozone destroying gases is aimed to be stop in the early 2000s. The ozone hole will not disappear immediately, unfortunately, since CFCs are very stable gases and they will remain in the atmosphere for possibly decades after release before they begin to deplete (Welch