Ozone depletion

Ozone is a naturally occurring molecule containing three oxygen atoms. Ozone molecules form a gaseous layer in the stratosphere, 15-30 km above the surface of the earth called the Ozone layer. It protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Today the ozone layer is depleting due to the release of pollution containing chemicals chlorine and bromine. Such deterioration allows large amounts of UV B rays to reach Earth1 seen in figure 1, which can cause many harmful internal and external effects on humans. Although it has been proven that the depletion of the ozone layer has caused health issues, there are many other factors for these health issues. The UV radiation also allows humans to receive a healthy dose of vitamin D. Therefore the question is, Is ozone depletion directly leading to a decrease in the overall health of humans in Australia? Chemical Background: Ozone is a highly reactive molecule that is constantly being formed and then broken down by chlorine that can…

Introduction Ozone depletion has been regarded as one of the global environmental issues for several decades. It is defined by Martens (1) as the situation that the amount of stratosphere ozone layer is decreasing and being damaged. The major reason is that the ozone in the stratosphere protects us from the harmful ultraviolet radiation and absorbs heat from the infra-red radiation. Reducing the amount of ozone probably causes irreversible and permanent damages to human and environment,…

downpour? Have you ever thought what caused all of these changes to our climate? Remember a time when you actually stopped to question the origins of these sprouting anomalies around you. Can you think of such a moment? All of these situations are becoming more common as each year passes by and we can only trace the cause back to humans’ incessant use of the flawed hydrofluorocarbons. These are compounds that save the ozone layer, yet greatly contribute to the anomalistic increase of our global…

the depletion of the ozone which in turn causes an excessive amount of ultraviolet, or UV, radiation to reach the earth. According to “Health and Environmental,” “A 10% reduction in ozone could lead to as much as a 15-20% increase in UV exposure depending on the biological process being considered.” This creates a lot of problems because an increase in UV radiation creates biological effects, or health effects, in a lot of organisms. The biological effects of excessive UV radiation due to ozone…

such as forest destruction, ozone depletion, and soil loss. The destruction of our forest comes from human-induced fires, agricultural expansion, logging, mining, and road building. These practices are necessary for the production of oil and primary paper products and with the growing human population and the growing need for consumerism, these forest aren’t able to rebuild themselves quick enough. Also, with the growing population, humans are having to occupy more space and build more houses…

Climate change endangers all sectors of our society. Human health will be impacted directly and indirectly due to the environmental changes that will occur with climate change. Ozone depletion occurs when manufactured chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons reach the stratosphere; the UV radiation from the sun causes the release of chlorine atoms that react with the ozone. This chemical cycle causes ozone destruction that depletes the ozone layer. Ultimately, the chain reaction will affect the…

“The production of garbage contributes to global warming both directly and indirectly. Decomposing waste in landfills produces methane and other greenhouse gases. Waste also requires energy to manufacture in the first place” (Lashof). Finally conserving water is important. Cities use energy when purifying and distributing water. This makes the greenhouse gases increase. Finally, despite what people say about global warming being a hoax, it surely is not. All evidence points to the reality of…

1700’s. CFCs are also more prevalent than previously assumed (Global Environmental Change”). Greenhouse gases are depleting the different layers of the atmosphere and that puts humans at more risk of getting too much direct UVA and UVB rays of sunlight which lead to different types of skin cancer (Jaworowski). While the UVA and UVB rays of sunlight continue to penetrate the ozone layer of the Earth, studies have shown that the amount of sunlight decreases at a rate of three percent every year…

The human body has evolved throughout time, adapting to the environment that they live in. The sun is part of the environment that everyone and anything is exposed to everyday, but the sun produces ultraviolet radiations that can damage the human skin and lead to skin cancer. Ultraviolet radiation is composed of three types of rays; ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B, and ultraviolet C. Ultraviolet C is the most dangerous type of radiation, but does not penetrate the earth’s ozone layer unlike…

Luxuries The world population is estimated to be 7,356, 829, 930 people and increases by 1 birth every 8 seconds (U.S.) With the world population increasing so fast there are bound to be negative effects on the environment, but we as humans could help minimize these negative effects by cutting back on our so called luxuries. Here are a few processes that are destroying earth are ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, ocean acidification and deforestation (Chen). Ozone…