Depleting Ozone and Its Effect on Society Essay -- Environment

Depleting Ozone and Its Effect on Society Is there a reason for us to be concerned? Can ozone depletion really be connected to something that is truly harmful to humans? How are we directly affected by ozone depletion? How much do we actually know about the ozone and the things that are going on in the atmosphere? There are many questions that arise when talking about the ozone depletion in relation to skin cancer. Today both environmentalists and researchers alike focus on the increasingly dangerous affect that ultraviolet radiation has on present day society. In order to understand how the ozone affects us we must first understand what the ozone is. What is the ozone? The ozone’s essential duty is to protect society from harmful ultraviolet rays by acting as a filter. The ozone is a layer in the middle of the stratosphere that protects the earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. The ozone layer acts as a shield and prevents the sun’s deadly ultraviolet rays from penetrating to the sur face of the earth. The ozone layer protects humans in ways that are difficult to predict The main reason that the ozone is depleting is because of the very nature of human activity. The ozone is being destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons. Chlorofluorocarbons, widely know as CFC’s, are a human-made chemicals that are composed of carbon, chlorine and fluorine atoms. It is the chlorine in chlorofluorocarbons that breaks down the molecule in the ozone causing it to slowly deplete. It is this man-made chemical been the main cause of ozone depletion high up in the atmosphere. There are several different types of CFCs. They were first developed in the 1930s, and since then have been widely used in refrigerators, aerosol cans and ... ...ting because it is the ozone layer that protects us from the very deadly and dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is very pertinent that our society recognizes that the ozone is thinning and that it is imperative that we take action, no matter how difficult it may be, so that the safety of future generations is ensured. Works Cited Books Gore, Albert. Earth in the Balance. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Harper, Charles L. Environment and Society:Human Perspective on Environmental Issues. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. Aguado, Edward. Burt, James E. Understanding Weather and Climate. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Internet http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/effects.html http://www.ciesin.org/docs/001-503/001-503.html http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/ozone.html http://www.who.int/uv/publications/proUVrad.pdf