Recently, there have been a number of studies done to examine the ozone layer in the atmosphere across the globe. Scientists from the European Space Agency have used the data collected from these studies to create a prediction of the future condition of the ozone layer in the future. According to the article, "the findings look promising".
According to the scientists, the ozone above northern and southern mid-latitudes was declining by 7% for the past few decades. After the enactment of the Montreal Protocol, however, they noticed a dramatic decrease in the trend, which fell to a mere .8% per decade. Now that ozone depletion is down to a meager .8% per decade, they predict that it will drastically improve in condition in years to come.
This is huge victory for the environment, whose very existence is dependent on the stability of the ozone layer, which protects us from the harmful UV radiation emitted by sunlight, which in effect shields us from the full intensity of the sun. Now that the ozone layer is relatively safe, other, more pressing environmental concerns can be looked at more seriously. Not only is this a victory for the environment, but it is also a victory for the environmentalist movement. They currently have the attention of the entire world, and showing that they can in fact make a significant change on Earth will show the world that the environmentalist movement is a movement worth supporting. This could open up new paths to efficient energy usage and sustainable life.
This is really interesting because I didn't know the ozone layer was improving. It's great how now we can focus our time on saving something else being affected by the environment!
ReplyDelete