Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Holy crap this isn’t something anyone has talked about in forever. I remember back in the 70’s the hole in the ozone layer was a big deal, how Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Were destroying the Ozone Layer these chemicals used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and as refrigerants were fairly quickly regulated to stop the destruction of the ozone layer.

Ok for all you youngans’ or those who simply never paid attention let me tell you what the Ozone Layer is. The ozone layer sits in the stratosphere between 15 km and 30 km above the earth and shields us and other living things from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Its depletion could have serious effects on human health and the environment. In scientific terms the air we breathe is Oxygen O², that is 2 oxygen molecules bonded together Ozone is O³ 3 Oxygen molecules, you can smell the ozone after a lightning storm because electrically charged Oxygen molecules bond together creating ozone. The function of this oxygen rich layer covers the entire planet and protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation from the sun.

In the mid-1970s, scientists warned that man-made chemicals in everyday products like aerosols, foams, refrigerators and air-conditioners were harming the ozone layer. At that time, they didn’t know the scale of the problem. But in 1985, a hole was confirmed in the ozone layer over Antarctica. In 1987, the area of the hole reached 22.4 million square kilometers and ozone concentrations dropped to 109 DU. By 2006, the worst year for ozone depletion, the numbers were 29.6 million square kilometers and just 84 DU. DU refers to the Dobson Unit, a way to describe how much ozone there would be in the column if it were all squeezed into a single layer. The average amount of ozone in the atmosphere is roughly 300 Dobson Units, equivalent to a layer 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) thick—the height of 2 pennies stacked together.

We haven’t talked too much about the ozone layer because many of us believe that it would repair itself if we stopped emitting CFCs into the atmosphere, you know if you ignore it long enough it will just get better. Well unfortunately, like cancer just ignoring it hasn’t made it better. The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size at 10 million square miles (26 million square kilometers) on September 21, which ranks as the 12^th largest since 1979, according to annual satellite and balloon-based measurements made by NOAA and NASA.

This hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic is hastening the melting of glaciers and adding to the increased level of the world oceans which in turn is changing the jet stream and changing global weather patterns.

This goes to show that the screw up of the past are still here and with the increase of global population and our stubborn reluctance to stop burning carbon we are pushing ourselves to an extinction event. Believe me the planet will be fine and will heal itself in a few millennia after we are gone. I, along with many others, had hoped that our hubris would doom our species.

Damn that was a bummer post… I just want everyone to understand that ignorance of something only makes it worse.