Ozone layer depletion and environmental impacts

Ozone layer is one of the most important layers present in the earth's atmosphere. The most important function of the ozone layer is to absorb the ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun, global warming is very quickly depleting the surface of the ozone layer which is not good news for the human beings. The activities of the human beings causes global warming which in turn depletes the ozone layer, hence it is very important to keep a check on the human activities which cause global warming. This paper will throw light upon what the ozone layer is made up of and what can the human beings do to help maintain it?

The depletion of the ozone layer will heavily affect the life of human beings; the depletion of the ozone layer will make human beings more vulnerable to skin cancer. The flora and fauna will inevitably get affected because of all the depletion of the ozone layer. "The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun. If the ozone layer is depleted by human action, the effects on the planet could be catastrophic. Ozone is present in the stratosphere. The stratosphere reaches 30 miles above the Earth, and at the very top it contains ozone. The sun's rays are absorbed by the ozone in the stratosphere and thus do not reach the Earth." (Ozone Depletion, 1 December 2008).

The ozone layer is instrumental in protecting the animals as well as the human beings and its depletion has been constantly on the rise which is not good news for the human beings. The production of the chlorofluorocarbons is the biggest cause of the depletion of the ozone layer. This chemical is very valuable for the countries which use it and they don't want to stop the production of this chemical, this can spell danger and can easily disturb the balance of the Earth. The climate of the Earth is constantly getting affected by the depletion of the ozone layer and it is high time to take appropriate measures to deal with the same. When the ozone layer depletes by 1%, the UV light exposure to the lower atmosphere becomes double which is 2%. The green house gases contribute majorly in the depletion of the ozone layer.

The Green House Effect

There are many green house gases present on Earth, for instance Carbon dioxide which is exhaled by human beings is abundantly present in the Earth's atmosphere. Other gases include Methane, Ozone, and Nitrous oxide etc. There are some very important gases without the presence of which the green house effect can never take place, those gases include Water vapor, and water vapors are clouds which affect climate change in more ways than one. Carbon dioxide is another important gas which helps in the process of the green house effect. Methane and ozone are the other important gases which are responsible for carrying out the process of the green house effect. "The greenhouse effect causes an accumulation of heat (or energy) in the Earth's atmosphere. The global climate must then adjust to deal with that extra accumulation of energy, and these adjustments result in global warming and climate changes.

Global warming results from an increase in the temperature of the Earth's lower atmosphere. Climate changes result from alterations to regional climatic events such as rainfall patterns, evaporation and cloud formation." (the Green House Effect FAQ, 5 December 2008).

Ozone Layer's Make up

Three oxygen atoms basically make up the ozone layer; the oxygen found in the atmosphere is made up of 2 oxygen atoms, the chemical formation makes the third atom unstable. This one atom of oxygen tries to combine itself with something else; this is the only reason why oxygen is always found in pairs, in its diatomic form which is () it is more stable than and this is because when it is in the form of (), it wants to become diatomic by giving up an atom. The same can be better understood with the help of a picture (Introduction to ozone, 5 December 2008)

Ozone is constantly being formed in the earth's atmosphere by the action of the sun's ultraviolet radiation on oxygen molecules. Ultraviolet light splits the molecules apart by breaking the bonds between the atoms. A highly reactive free oxygen atom then collides with another oxygen molecule to form an ozone molecule. Because ozone is unstable, ultraviolet light quickly breaks it up, and the process begins again." (Introduction to ozone, 5 December 2008). There are two types of ozone found in different layers of the atmosphere namely the stratosphere and the troposphere. The ozone found in the stratosphere is the good ozone which protects human beings from the harmful UV rays emitted by the sun; on the contrary the ozone found in the troposphere is the bad ozone, it is also a green house gas which is capable of damaging human health and other important things. There has been an increase of the ozone in the troposphere which is a worrying factor for all the human beings. This double trouble, on one hand the ozone layer is depleting which will cause severe health problems to the human beings and on the other the bad ozone present in the troposphere is constantly increasing. Both these aspects have to be kept in mind and the required actions must be taken which will ensure the well being of human beings on the Earth.

Global Warming and the Depletion of the Ozone layer

It is very important to understand what global warming is and how it contributes in the depletion of the ozone layer. When the average measured temperature of the Earth goes up that is exactly when Global Warming takes place. This occurs due to various reasons; one of the most significant is the green house effect. This paper will throw light upon Global Warming as a natural process and not from the perspective that the activities of human beings solely lead to Global Warming.

Although factors other than climate may have intensified the severity of some of the events on the map, scientists predict such problems will increase if emissions of heat-trapping gases are not brought under control." (Global Warming: Early Warning Signs, 5 December 2008)

There is no doubt that human beings are responsible for Global Warming, activities like burning the fossil fuels contribute the maximum towards Global warming but there is another side of the coin. When people talk about Global Warming the first thing which comes to their minds is the activities of the Human Beings, there is no denying that this is very right and understandable but the thing which takes a back seat when this whole issue is discussed is the occurrence of Global Warming due to the natural processes. One big factor which has contributed naturally towards Global Warming is the energy emitted by the Sun. This is very natural and no one can control this. it's inevitable and very natural; Scientists believe that this has been one of the natural processes which have caused Global Warming. It is believed that its contribution has been very little. The heating and cooling of earth is a very natural process, the only problem is that the human activities are speeding up Global Warming; the activities are not causing it. There is a huge difference between speeding up an activity and causing the activity.

Methane is one of the most harmful gases present in the atmosphere, research goes to prove that over the past 10 years the level of Methane has constantly been on the rise and this is purely natural. No human activity is responsible for it. This is another factor which is contributing towards Global Warming. The presence of Carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere is undeniable and it is very natural, this is one of the biggest reasons for Global Warming. The infrared energy is emitted into the space naturally and this also contributes towards Global Warming. The concentrations of green house gases trap more infrared energy, the heat released results in warming the surface of the earth and this again is very natural and no human activity is responsible for it. The past generations did not have the luxury of automobiles which releases toxic gases and ultimately causes global warming but they still experienced Global warming. The melting of the Glaciers, increase in the sea level, ocean chemistry changes are just some of the instances which prove that Global warming was experienced by our earlier generations too. So this goes to prove that at that time human activities contributed very little to Global Warming but it still occurred, this is a good enough indication that it is a natural process which has to occur, the only problem is that the human activities have lately started contributing extensively towards this natural process. This should be slowed down by taking the suitable measures, it is high time that we realize how important it is to keep a balance and take preventive measures to have the right balance of the Earth's temperature.

On Feb. 2, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is "unequivocal," and that human activity has "very likely" been the driving force in that change over the last 50 years. The last report by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2001, had found that humanity had "likely" played a role." (Science, 5 December 2008).

Ozone and Earth's Homeostasis

The homeostasis on the earth is maintained by the presence of ozone, ozone makes a layer in the stratosphere which is roughly about 10-15 kilometers from the earth's surface. Ozone is formed when O2 and Oxygen atom O. collide with each other. When this reaction takes place the molecule O3 contains excessive energy, after the formation of the molecule becomes unstable, the excessive energy is discarded by colliding with another atom and the energy is transferred in the form of heat. "In the results of the decomposition of ozone into O2 and O. In the ozone layer, solar radiation is absorbed. This process of the chemical bond breaking causing the absorption of a photon by a molecule is called photo dissociation." (Ozone, 5 December 2008). 99% of radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer and this is exactly why there have been serious concerns about the depletion of the ozone layer.