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Zoning in on the Ozone

ozone

But first, let’s brush up on the basics:

Five Important Facts about the Ozone Layer

1. Ozone is good poison. Let’s be clear on this—ozone may be fatal when inhaled. But it’s good for us when it’s up there in stratosphere, a 50-kilometer wide region that’s around 16 kilometers from the earth’s surface. This is where we find the ozone layer that protects us from those nasty ultraviolet rays.

2. Ozone can also be bad. The bad news is ozone can also be found in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer that’s nearest to the earth. This ozone is formed from pollutants and is damaging to all life on earth.

3. We need the ozone layer. It may be thin and fragile, but the nothing beats the ozone layer in screening out the sun’s lethal UV-C radiation, and filtering 90% of its harmful UV-B rays, which lowers our immune system and makes us age faster. UV-B also inhibits agricultural growth, affecting our food supply.

4. The ozone hole is not literally a hole. The ozone hole refers to the thinning of the ozone layer, first observed over the Antarctic area in the early 1980s. Today, the size of ozone depletion is a little over 11 million square miles, a bit larger than the continent of North America.

5. Ozone depletion is manmade. Some examples of ODS (ozone depleting substances) are the chemical Halon, used in fire extinguishers and the pesticide, Methyl Bromide. But the biggest culprits of all are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which, among others, are used as cooling agents in refrigerators and air-conditioners, and propellants in aerosols. In fact, CFCs make up almost 90% of ODS in the country! But here’s a bit of good news: once ODS are phased out, the ozone layer will slowly repair itself.

Saving the Ozone Layer
Because of the alarming rate of ozone depletion, more than 180 countries drew up an agreement known as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on September 16, 1987. This protocol intended to reduce the abundance of harmful substances in the atmosphere by phasing out ODS.

According to United Nations Undersecretary-General and United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner, “There are positive indications that the ozone layers is on track to recovery towards the middle of the century.” Reports showed that without the Montreal Protocol, atmospheric levels of ODS could have increased tenfold by 2050. Because of the positive development, 2 million cases of skin cancer would be prevented by 2030.

The protocol’s latest assessment also provides solid scientific proof to policy-makers of the complicated relationship between the ozone and the climate, and the need for supportive measures in order to protect life.
With the continued success of the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer is on full recovery, with the likelihood of its 1980 benchmark, a time before the ozone layer’s significant depletion.

However, the crusade is far from over. While, greenhouse gasses emissions have decreased by more than 90%, other gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrous Oxide and Methane will still affect the ozone layer in the second half of 21st century. These three long-lived greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere will play a vital role in future ozone depletion.
On November 2014, key findings of the report will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Paris. The full report will be released in early 2015.

Sources:
The Philippine Ozone Desk http://www.emb.gov.ph/philozone/philozone.htm
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
http://ozone.unep.org/new_site/en/montreal_protocol.php

Jesy Basco is an advocate of responsible media and a weather reporter at Panahon TV, aired daily at 5:00 AM on the People’s Television (PTV). Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.