etting to thick, and blocking too much of the suns light, or from causing damage to the animals on land. However, as the scientists’ work has shown, this delicate balance has been disrupted by the pollution produced by man. There are many factors that contribute to the pollution that is destroying the atmosphere, like the byproducts from major industries and manufacturing, of which millions of tons are released into the atmosphere yearly. But the most dangerous pollutant comes form smaller, yet more numerous items: air conditioning units, freezers, refrigerators, aerosol spray cans, and styrofoam products. The one thing which all of theses items have in common is Chloro-Fluorocarbons or CFC’c.CFC’s are used in all of those products because they are very stable, and non-reactive. That is, they are not flammable, and they will not react with other chemicals. Because they are so stable, CFC’s are not very biodegradable, and thus have a long time to get into the atmosphere and destroy ozone molecules. Once CFC’s reach the atmosphere, they come in contact with ultraviolet radiation that breaks them down and converts them into Chlorine atoms, which in turn react with the ozone molecules. It is estimated that each Chlorine atom is responsible for the destruction of 100,000 molecules of ozone. That is 300,000 oxygen atoms for each atom of Chlorine.This destruction of ozone is most obvious in the north and south poles of the earth, where there has been an estimated 30-40% decrease in ozone levels, and a 100% increase in Chlorine levels. Part of this is due to the unique winter-vortex that is caused by polar winds in the winter, which effectively keep polar air from being recirculated. This air is later released, and goes over Australia and New Zealand, which then experience their highest annual levels of UV radiation.So why should we be worried about this trend? Well, it is estimated that for every 1% drop in ozone ...
