|
|
|
|
|
|
Description
The Ozone Layer protects us from severe ultraviolet energy coming from space; most of it from the Sun. If not for this thin layer of the oxygen isotope, O3, genetic mutations, including cancers would be commonplace, and not just in humans. Weakened immune systems, reduced plant growth fishing harvests would also occur. Starting in the late 1970s, it was noticed that the ozone layer would thin dramatically during the cold months of winter (July and August at the South Pole), threatening Australia and South America. Arctic thinning has also occurred in the last ten years ago, which could affect Northern Europe, Asia and North America. Ozone created by vehicle exhaust at ground-level is a pollutant, causing the 'alert-days' for citizens with breathing problems in major cities. Certain chemicals, many of them refrigerants, released into the atmosphere were wreaking havoc on the oxygen cycle that creates O3 in the stratosphere. After 11 years of research, negotiations at the Vienna Convention paved the way for concrete actions to prevent the destruction of the Ozone layer. The follow-up Montreal Convention in 1987 agreed on commitments made by all countries to ban these chemicals affecting the Ozone Layer
Helpful Websites
The actual Montreal Protocol report Various UN reports on the Ozone Layer
Helpful Books
"Ozone Depletion And Climate Change: Constructing A Global Response" by Hoffmann
|
