Page 48 - ECOlogic Book
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we are earth, it’s not surprising that the breakdown of earth’s immune
system should be expressed and played out is such a dramatic human way
as the AIDS virus.
Though they are separate phenomena, ozone Depletion and Global Warming
exacerbate one another. “Global Warming increases the amount of water
vapor throughout the atmosphere and traps infrared heat in the lower part
of the sky which would otherwise radiate back out to space, passing through
the stratosphere. As a result, the stratosphere actually cools as the lower
atmosphere warms. A cooler stratosphere, with more water vapor, means
more ice crystals in the ozone layer, especially in the Polar Regions, where
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromines used in some insecticides, mingle
with the ozone in the presence of the ice, thus depleting the ozone at a
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faster rate.”
“The thinner the ozone layer, the more ultraviolet radiation reaches the
earth, disrupting photosynthesis in the vegetation that normally absorbs
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vast quantities of CO2.”
EPA Publication EPA-430-R-07-001
April 26, 2007
Excerpt: Countries around the world are phasing out the production and use
of chemicals that destroy ozone in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The United
States has already phased out production of those substances having the
greatest potential to deplete the ozone layer. At the same time, we have
ensured that businesses and consumers have alternatives that are safer for
the ozone layer than the chemicals they replace. These vital measures are
helping to protect human health and the global environment.
With our many partners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
proud to have been part of a broad coalition that developed and
implemented flexible, innovative, and effective approaches to ensure
stratospheric ozone layer protection. These partnerships have fundamentally
changed the way we do business, spurring the development of new
technologies that not only protect the ozone layer but, in many cases, also
48 IBID, p. 53.
49 IBID 216.
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