Stratospheric Ozone Hole: A Severe Threat to the Existence of Terrestrial Life - Term Paper Example

Stratospheric Ozone Hole: A Severe Threat to the Existence of Terrestrial Life Supervised by: ID: Department of English Language Major: Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Ozone Hole: A Threat to the Existence of Terrestrial Life ……………………………………….. 3 Detrimental Effects of Ozone Hole on Human Health………………………………….. 4 Effects of Ozone Depletion on Food Production …………………………………………. 4 Marine Life and Ecosystem at High Risk …………………………………….…………. 5 Solution to Ozone Hole: Collective Awareness and Effort to Reduce ODS …………………….. 5 Man’s Awareness of the Health Risks caused by Ozone Hole ……………………….….. 5 Man’s Effort to Reduce ODS in Modern Society …………………………………….….. 6 Preparing an Eco-friendly Protocol and Ensuring Compliance………………. 7 Future of Ozone Depletion and the Impending Threat ………………………………………… 7 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………… 8 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………… 10 References…………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 Introduction Ozone Hole is an atmospheric phenomenon of modern industrialized world. In human history, it is supposed to be a unique incident which can be attributed to modern age only. The phenomenon of the ozone layer depletion was first observed in the 1970s. In 1984, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered a dramatic depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere over the Antarctic region (Carver, 1998, pars. 2). This thinned ozone layer was later called as ‘Ozone Hole’. The ‘Antarctic Ozone Hole’ has attracted scientists’ and environmentalists’ attention around the world because of its potential threat to terrestrial environment and ecosystem. Scientists further have become aware of the manmade causes and consequences of the ozone-depletion phenomenon in terrestrial atmosphere. The Ozone Hole is supposed to be one of the most detrimental manmade disasters in human history. The Ozone layer protects terrestrial life from the harmful solar ultraviolet radiation. Modern society’s awareness of the harmful effects of ozone hole, governments’ collective effort and compliance to the reduction of ODS, etc can assist the world to get rid of the problems and disasters related to ozone depletion. Figure 1. The Ozone layer in the Stratosphere absorbs the UV-B radiation Ozone Hole: A Threat to the Existence of Terrestrial Life The Ozone layer plays a very important role in the existence of life as well as maintaining the ecological balance on the Earth. For about ten million years, it has saved life from the detrimental effects of ultraviolet rays of the Sun (Welch, 2013, pars. 6). The ozone molecules absorb the Ultra Violate-B (UV-B) ray, a solar radiation which consists of electromagnetic waves of 280nm-315nm wavelength (Carlowicz, 2009, pars. 3). The UV-B radiation is reported to cause to skin cancer, immune deficiencies among man and animals on Earth. It can also destroy terrestrial flora, fauna, “single cell organisms, and aquatic ecosystems” (EPA.gov, 2015, pars.2). Detrimental Effects of Ozone Hole on Human Health Human beings are the worst sufferers of the increased UV-B on Earth. Though the ozone layer constitutes a minor part of the atmospheric air, its role in terrestrial ecosystem is very important, as Carlowicz (2009) says, “Ozone is Earth’s natural sunscreen, absorbing most of the incoming UV radiation from the sun and protecting life from DNA-damaging radiation” (pars. 5). Destruction of the ozone layer increases the presence of UV-B in terrestrial atmosphere and, meanwhile, it also increases the risk of health effects. In an article, the ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ (EPA) reports that “UVB causes nonmelanoma skin cancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development…In addition, UVB has been linked to cataracts -- a clouding of the eye’s lens” (EPA.gov, 2015, pars.2). Skin cancers such as Basal, malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinomas, etc are strongly related to UV-B exposure. Effects of Ozone Depletion on Food Production Excessive exposure to UV-B will severely threaten the world food production and stock. Though animals and plants have their own biological mechanisms to adapt with malignant environmental changes, they are vulnerable to “increased levels of UV-B”, as it is said in a study, “Health and Environmental Effects of Ozone Layer Depletion”, published by the EPA, “Despite mechanisms to reduce or repair the effects of increased ultraviolet radiation, plants have a limited ability to adapt to increased levels of UVB, therefore plant growth can be directly affected by UVB radiation” (EPA.gov, 2015, pars.8). Such failure is supposed to affect the world’s agricultural food resource. UV-B can affect the reproduction of microorganisms which are necessary for the growth of plants and animals. In a study, titled “Photoecophysiology of cyanobacteria”, Sinha, Singh and Hader (1999) demonstrate that UV-B radiation severely hampers the reproduction of Cyanobacteria by preventing the diffusion of the bacterial nucleolus (pp.45-9). Therefore, plants such as rice, which depend on these microorganisms for absorbing nitrogen, will suffer badly from the increase of UV-index in the atmosphere. Marine Life and Ecosystem at High Risk Heavy exposure to the UVB has been reported to destroy the reproduction of lower-level members of marine food chain. Organisms such as Phytoplankton occupy a crucial position in aquatic food chain as well as marine ecosystem. A wide range of aquatic living things from small fishes to large mammals like whales crucially depends on phytoplankton for food. Even aquatic plants’ life also depends on the biological processes related to the lifespan of phytoplankton, the EPA study says, “Exposure to solar UVB radiation has been shown to affect both orientation mechanisms and motility in phytoplankton, resulting in reduced survival rates for these organisms” (EPA.gov, 2015, pars.6). Since phytoplankton resides in the “euphotic zone”, the uppermost layer of the sea-surface, where there is sufficient sunlight and surface waves, it is vulnerable to the exposure of UVB. Recent studies on the effects of UV-B radiation on marine life demonstrate that UV-B can severely affect “early developmental stages of fish, shrimp, crab, amphibians and other animals” (EPA.gov, 2015, pars.9). The impending threat is that a small amount of increase in UV-B index can ruthlessly decrease the reproductive capacity, while causing disastrous change in the population of these aquatic animals. Solution to Ozone Hole: Collective Awareness and Effort to Reduce ODS Ozone-depletion is a severe threat to the existence of terrestrial life. It is a serious man-made disaster which is caused by modern man. Excessive use of halogen-rich substances has been found to be responsible for the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer (Lilley, 2015, pars. 4-5). The primary catalytic agent who is responsible for the ozone depletion is modern man. So, it is an imperative that modern society should grow mass awareness of this potential danger of ozone hole. Man must be aware enough to amend his self-destructive mistake. Man’s Awareness of the Health Risks caused by Ozone Hole Man’s awareness of health risks caused by Ozone Hole can increase his awareness of other potential dangers of ozone-layer depletion. In a research paper, the “Ecuadorian Space Agency” (ESA) reports that observations of data from 10 satellites and equipments from cities around the world show that the UV-Index along the equatorial region of the Earth is much higher than normal expectation. Often the UV-index around these cities is above 22, whereas the World Health Organization considers the UV-index 11 as severe (Grundmann, 2001, pp.34-5). In a study, Carlowicz (2009) notes, “The ultraviolet (UV) radiation falling on mid-latitude cities like Washington, D.C., is strong enough to cause sunburn in just five minutes” (pars.1). People’s awareness of the health risks of the increased UV-B radiation can enhance their perception of the threats of the Ozone hole to the environment and existence of life on the Earth. This popular awareness will supposedly modify human activities and help them to be self-corrective. Man’s Effort to Reduce ODS in Modern Society Scientists demonstrate that the primary cause of ozone-depletion is man-made ozone-depleting substances (ODS). In a study, Rebecca Lindsey (1979) says that “Scientists estimate that about 80 percent of the chlorine (and bromine, which has a similar ozone-depleting effect) in the stratosphere over Antarctica today is from human, not natural, sources” (pars.7). Halogen atoms from the photo-dissociation of “Ozone depleting substances” (ODS) such as propellants, refrigerants, Choloflurocarbons (CFCs), Halons, freons, HCFCS, etc cause the ozone molecules (O3) to breakdown. In normal state, according to Chapman Reaction, the ozone molecules absorb UV-B and break down into an Oxygen molecule and a single Oxygen ion (Carver, 1998, pars. 3-4). But naturally, in certain state, the single Oxygen ion binds with another Oxygen molecule and forms an Ozone molecule. O2 + hv -> O + O …………..(1) O + O2 -> O3………………………(2) O3 + hv -> O2 + O …………(3) But the presence of a halogen catalyst hampers the formation of an ozone molecule. As a result, the concentration of the Ozone layer in the stratosphere reduces and its function as an insulator to the UV-B diminishes. Since the production of the ODS is comparatively high in developed countries, the governmental bodies of these countries should take effective measures to reduce the production of the ODS. Preparing an Eco-friendly Protocol and Ensuring Compliance Developing an eco-friendly protocol and ensuring the countries’ compliance to it can help reducing the production of ODS and recovering the ozone-depletion. Governments should enforce laws and regulations prohibiting and restricting the “Ozone-Depleting Products” such as halogenated fire-extinguishers, aerosols with CFCS, freon and CFC-based freezer, refrigerator and air cooler, etc. But meanwhile the governments should advocate and inspire CFC-free products (Gareau, 2013, pp. 34-6). Strict regulation of CFC-producing private vehicles is not sufficient; rather people must be motivated to use vehicles with alternative technology. Pesticides and household-cleaning products which produce halon molecules should be banned (Gareau, 2013, pp. 38). After all, the international authority should strictly monitor the governments’ level of compliance to the Montreal Protocol and they should be rewarded and punished respectively for their success and failure. Future of Ozone Depletion and the Impending Threat Despite the world nations’ failures to comply with the Montreal Protocol, the ray of hope has not diminished completely. If the nations of the world had not agreed to reduce the production of the ODSs in the Montreal Summit, the world would have turned inhabitable by 2064. In a study, Newman and his fellow researchers predicted the future of the Earth where there is no effort to protect the Ozone Layer. Their computerized simulation model shows that the terrestrial ozone layer would have been destroyed completely by the year 2065 (Carlowicz, 2009, pars. 9-11), as it is shown below: Figure 2. The Future of the Earth in 2064 Indeed, the Montreal Protocol may not work as it is expected. But it is a remarkable step for the international community to prevent the world from destruction, as Newman et al says, “The Montreal Protocol is a remarkable international agreement that should be studied by those involved with global warming and the attempts to reach international agreement on that topic” (Carlowicz, 2009, pars. 9-11). To a remarkable extent, it proved to be effective when the scientists observed the halt in the production of CFCs in the late 1990s. At the current recovery rate, by 2060, the terrestrial ozone layer will reach the state as it was in 1980. The recovery rate is shown below: Figure 3. Slow recovery of the Ozone Layer Conclusion Ozone depletion is an impending threat to the existence of life on the Earth. Stratospheric ozone layer protects the earth from the DNA-mutating cancerous Ultraviolet-B radiation from the Sun. The solar UV-B radiation is very harmful for the human health. Furthermore, it can seriously damage the ecosystem by killing many organisms which play a vital role in the food chain. For the past 60 years, this layer has been destroyed by man-made CFCs and halogenated hydrocarbons. Man-made halogenated substances help to deplete the Ozone molecules and severely hamper their reformations. If such state continued, the Ozone Layer would be destroyed completely by the year 2064. But fortunately, first noticed in the 1970s, it received scientists’ attention and measures to prevent producing ozone depleting substance were included in Montreal Protocol. In order for making these measures successful, modern societies and governments around the world must take necessary steps to reduce the production of ODS. Appendix A: Figure 1. The Ozone layer in the Stratosphere absorbs the UV-B radiation Figure 2. The Future of the Earth in 2064 Figure 3. Slow recovery of the Ozone Layer References Carlowicz, Michael. “The World We Avoided By Protecting The Ozone Layer : Feature Articles”. Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. N.p., 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Carver, Glenn. “The Ozone Hole Tour : Part I. The History Of The Ozone Hole.” Atm.ch.cam.ac.uk. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Epa.gov,. “Health And Environmental Effects Of Ozone Layer Depletion | Science | Ozone Layer Protection | US EPA”. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015 Gareau, Brian. From Precaution to Profit: Contemporary Challenges to Environmental Protection in the Montreal Protocol. (Yale University Press. 2013) Grundmann, Reiner.. Transnational Environmental Policy: Reconstructing Ozone. Psychology Press, 2001 Lilley, Ray. Ozone Hole Over City For First Time. ABC News 2015: 2. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Lindsey, Rebecca. World Of Change: Antarctic Ozone Hole : Feature Articles. Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. N.p., 1979. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Sinha, R. P.; Singh, S. C. and Häder, D.-P. (1999). "Photoecophysiology of cyanobacteria". Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology 3: 91–101. Welch, Charles. The Ozone Hole. Theozonehole.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Read More