The Environmental Issue (Ozone Depletion Cause Of Global Warming) - Essay Example

?Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE (OZONE DEPLETION CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING) The Environmental Issue (Ozone Depletion Cause Of Global Warming) InsertName Insert Course Title Insert Instructor’s Name 4 September 2011 Annotated bibliography Anon. “Ozone destruction major cause of warming! -- Part 1.” Hydrocarbon processing (International ed.), Gulf Publishing Company, 2009. According to this article, the recent warming was caused marjory by the anthropogenic emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that led to Ozone layer depletion. Johansen, Bruce E. The relationship of Ozone Depletion and the Greenhouse Effect, The Global Warming Desk Reference. Greenwood Press, 2004. According to the author, thinning of ozone layer may alter the DNA of plants and animals. Grover, Rajeshwari. “Global warming and its impact on skin disorders.” Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol, Vol. 75, 2009, pp.337-9. This study highlights how temperatures increase due to climate change and ozone depletion, which may increase the carcinogenic effectiveness of the solar UV and lead to increase in skin cancer cases. Haw-Yueh, Thong & Maibach, Howard I. “Global warming and its dermatologic implications.” International Journal of Dermatology, Vol. 47 Issue 5, May2008, pp.522-524. According to the authors of this article, occurrence of Hurricane Katrina there was prolonged flooding and exposure to contaminated water that lead to an outbreak of skin infections and other health problems Norval, M., et al. “The human health effects of ozone depletion and interactions with climate change Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Appendix: Health risks associated with the use of substitutes for ozone-depleting substances.” Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, Vol. 10 Issue 2, Feb2011, pp.199-225, 27p. This article provides a discussion that, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer has led to increased solar UV-B radiation (280–315 nm) at the surface of the earth and this change is likely to have had an impact on human exposure to UV-B radiation with consequential detrimental effects on health on the eye and the skin Powell, Peter. “HFCs Are Target of Global Warming.” Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News, Volume 230, Issue 11, 2007, p. 1. This article shows how the DuPont Flouroproducts emphasized the fact that many current HFCs are contributors to the global warming situation during the February 28, 2007 Webcast event. Schiermeier, Quirin. “Atmospheric science: Fixing the sky.” Nature, Vol. 460 Issue 7257, 2009, p792-795. The author praises the 1987 Montreal Protocol that compelled countries to phase out the production of ozone destroying compounds, which was a great step towards repairing the damaged Ozone layer. Steig, Eric J. et al. “Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year.” Nature, Vol. 457 Issue 7228, 2009, pp.459-462. The article provides that there have been strong warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and slight cooling of the Antarctic continental interior in the recent decades. University of Leeds. “Ozone hole healing could cause further climate warming.” ScienceDaily, 26 Jan. 2010. This article shows that the closure of ozone hole may cause the winds to die down, leading to rise of CO2 emissions that may cause warming of the southern hemisphere to rise. World Meteorological Organization, Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1998, WMO Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project - Report No. 44, Geneva, 1998. This study highlights how losses of ozone layer can have cooling effects on earth surface and increase of ozone troposphere due CFCs and HFCs can increase global warming. Essay: The environmental issue (Ozone Depletion cause of Global Warming) Over the years, there have been heated discussions about global warming. Some scholars have been supporting the notion that anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused the earth to warm; while others argued that, it is just a natural warming. Of late, there have been a greater than normal warming without any direct correlation to increase in CO2, whether anthropogenic or natural. According to Hydrocarbon processing (International ed.) journal, the recent warming was caused marjory by the anthropogenic emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that lead to Ozone layer depletion. Studies have revealed that the CFCs create both unnatural atmospheric cooling and warming. This is clearly highlighted in the above journal, as it points out that: CFCs have destroyed Ozone in the lower stratosphere/upper troposphere, causing zone in the atmosphere to cool 1.37 oc from 1966 to 1998. this is in addition to the loss of Ozone, allowing more UV light to pass through the stratosphere at a more significant rate leading to warming of the troposphere of the earth by 0.48 oc in that period (Anon 2). Generally, the ozone layer has two major effects on the global temperature balance. First, it absorbs the solar UV radiations that heat the stratosphere and then absorbs the infrared radiation emitted from the earth surface, trapping the heat in the troposphere. According World Meteorological Organization report Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1998, “the major ozone losses that have been observed in the lower stratosphere due to the human-produced chlorine- and bromine-containing gases have a cooling effect on the Earth's surface.” This is the main source of greenhouse effect that causes global warming. Through these effects, the earth temperature balance is considerably altered by changes in the ozone layer, leading to global warming. Hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) and CFCs are the major contributors of ozone depletion, further aggravating the global warming trend. Peter Powell, in his work, HFCs Are Target of Global Warming emphasized the fact that many current HFCs are contributors to the global warming situation during the February 28, 2007 Webcast event. Event explored the fact that increasing concentrations of HFCs and CFCs will continue to increase the greenhouse effect, global climate change, or global warming, thus they should remain targets of global warming regulation (Powell 1). With this awakening, there has been great emphasis on restricting production and use of fluorocarbons. Bodies such as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been argued to tighten rules regarding leak rates and documentation for fluorocarbons, all with the aim of prohibiting uses of fluorinated gases. Quirin Schlermeler, in the Fixing the Sky, praises the 1987 Montreal Protocol that compelled countries to phase out the production of ozone, destroying compounds. This was a great step towards repairing the damaged Ozone layer. The study further reveals that though the ozone hole that appears over the Antarctica is still large, the amount of chlorine in the atmosphere is declining significantly and the Ozone is starting to show some tangible signs of recovery (793). The greater ozone depletion in the Polar Regions has led to these areas becoming warmer, causing permafrost to melt, and increasing the amount of methane in the atmosphere. Once methane is released in the atmosphere, it converts to water and CO2, increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus the greenhouse effect increases. Eric Steig, et al (2009), in their study Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year, revealed that the there has been strong warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and slight cooling of the Antarctic continental interior in the recent decades. This study further revealed that significant warming extended beyond the Antarctic Peninsula to cover most of west Antarctica, an area of warming that is larger than earlier reported, thus there is enhanced warming in West Antarctica (1). Studies have revealed that, apart from leading to global warming, Ozone depletion can cause significant dermatological implication and spread of infectious diseases. Normally, the ozone cautions the earth surface against the dangerous UV light radiation but with depletion of ozone. This caution becomes significantly reduced. Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer has led to increased solar UV-B radiation (280–315 nm) at the surface of the Earth, and this change is likely to have had an impact on human exposure to UV-B radiation, with consequential detrimental effects on health on the eye and the skin (Norval, et al 200). According to Grover Rajeshwari, in his study on Global warming and its impact on skin disorders, ”the long-term elevation of temperature by 2 oc due to climate change and ozone depletion may increase the carcinogenic effectiveness of the solar UV by 10%, and each 1% loss of total ozone leads to a 3-5% increase in skin cancer cases.” Other dermatological effects likely to be accelerated by ozone depletion include sunburns, tanning, immediate pigment darkening, and photoaging. Studies further link the global warming associated with ozone depletion to calamities that lead to increase in prevalence of infectious diseases. According to Haw-Yueh Thong and Howard Maibach study on Global warming and its dermatologic implications, following the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina, there was prolonged flooding and exposure to contaminated water that led to an outbreak of skin infections and other health problems. Calamities related to global warming such as flooding, drought, heat waves, and hurricanes expose human beings to more health hazards. Additionally, thinning of ozone layer may alter the DNA of plants and animals (Johansen 2004). The recovery of the ozone layer has always been linked to reduction of the global warming effects but some scholars argue otherwise. According to the scientists at the University of Leeds, the steady closing of ozone layer may lead to increase in warming of the southern hemisphere. This study bases its argument on the fact that “the high speed winds in the area beneath the hole have lead to formation of brighter summertime clouds that reflect more of the sun’s powerful rays and hence the heat away from the surface of this areas. But the closer of this hole may cause the winds to die down leading to rise of CO2 emissions that may cause the warming of the southern hemisphere to rise” (University of Leeds 2010). Thus, these results may alter future studies on impact ozone layer repair on the global warming. Read More