I miss the old ozone layer. I love being outdoors but find that more than 10 minutes of direct sunlight is too much. I am always looking for a shady place. When we moved to California in 2008, I thought the oppressive sun was just from the nonstop sunny skies. But now it’s 2016 and we are living in Western New York, where I find the sunshine as oppressive as ever. The other day it was beautiful, 75° and sunny, though it seemed much hotter in the direct sunlight, perhaps 85° or more. When I finally found shade under a tree, the temperature dropped so significantly that I needed a sweater. That is simply crazy. This was not the story ten years ago. I believe it must be related to the ozone layer.
Now what is the ozone layer and what happened to it? Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms (O3). The ozone layer is a belt of naturally occurring ozone gas that sits 9.3 to 18.6 miles above Earth and serves as a shield from the harmful ultraviolet B radiation emitted by the sun. Ninety percent of the ozone in the atmosphere sits in the stratosphere. In the lower atmosphere, the troposphere, near the Earth’s surface, ozone is created by chemical reactions between air pollutants from vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and other emissions. At ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people and plants. The ozone layer is deteriorating due to the release of pollution containing the chemicals chlorine and bromine. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one atom of chlorine can destroy more than a hundred thousand ozone molecules. The deterioration allows large amounts of ultraviolet B rays to reach Earth, which can cause skin cancer, weaken immune systems and cataracts in humans and harm animals as well and makes it feel so oppressive when standing in direct sunlight.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals found mainly in spray aerosols heavily used by industrialized nations for much of the past 50 years, are the primary culprits to blame for ozone layer breakdown. When CFCs reach the upper atmosphere, they are exposed to ultraviolet rays that cause them to break down into substances that includes chlorine. The chlorine reacts with the oxygen atoms in ozone and rips apart the ozone molecule. About 90 percent of CFCs currently in the atmosphere were emitted by industrialized countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States and Europe. These countries banned CFCs by 1996, and the amount of chlorine in the atmosphere is falling now. But scientists estimate it will take another 50 years for chlorine levels to return to their natural levels.
Can the ozone layer be repaired? Yes, ozone is created and destroyed daily. At one point, we were destroying it faster than it could be replaced – thus holes were created. After doing some googling to check my facts I found that now, it is thought that the holes are being repaired but trapping the warm air – as a result global warming and erratic weather patterns. So, do I miss the ozone layer of the past, yes I do.
