Too Big To Fail?

Ozone Depletion & Climate Change Different but Related Atmospheric Problems

Ozone  is  a  form  of  oxygen.  Most  oxygen  is  made  up  of  2  oxygen  atoms  (O2),  but  ozone  is  made  of  3  oxygen  atoms  (O3).  

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a form of energy that comes from the Sun. There are a number of different forms of UV energy that are named according to their wavelength. The shorter the wavelength, the more energetic the radiation is, & hence the more damaging it can be if it reaches the Earth.

UV–A Radiation is the least damaging & it reaches the Earth in large amounts. Most UV–A rays pass right through the ozone layer in the stratosphere.

UV–B Radiation can be very harmful. Fortunately, most UV–B radiation is filtered out by the ozone layer.

UV–C Radiation is the most harmful, but fortunately it is all filtered out by ozone & oxygen in the stratosphere (upper atmosphere), & so never reaches the Earth’s surface.

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September 2000

Increased UV-B Radiation’s Impact

  UV-­‐B  radia@on  has  already  reduced  plankton  popula@ons  around  the  poles  by  about  12%.    

  As  plankton  make  up  the  base  of  the  marine  food  chain,  changes  in  their  number  influence  fish  &  shellfish  produc@on  world-­‐wide.  These  kinds  of  losses  will  have  a  direct  impact  on  world  food  supplies.  

It  Will  Slowly  Reduce  All  ODSs  in  the  Atmosphere  

Es@mates  of  Skin  Cancer  Reduc@ons  Related  to  Achievements  of  the  Montreal  Protocol  &  Copenhagen  

Amendments  in  Protec@ng  the  Ozone  Layer  

Primary  suppliers  of  CFCs  are  Russia  (which  oXen  violated  the  Montreal  Protocol),  as  well  as    China  &  India  (who  were  allowed  to  produce  CFCs  legally  un@l  2010).    •  CFCs  can  easily  be  smuggled  from  those  countries  into  Europe,  which  has  lax  legisla@on  on  imports  &  smuggling.  In  the  US,  much  of  the  smuggled  CFCs  comes  from  Europe,  aXer  being  smuggled  from  one  of  the  other  na@ons.   CFC Production (by Tons) 1996

HFCs & HCFCs (the CFC alternatives) are still greenhouse gasses.

Carbon Emissions 1850-2000

CO2 in the Atmosphere 1960-1990

  Polar, Greenland & glacial ice melt; loss of snow pack.

  Sea level rise, flooding & mass migrations, disappearance of islands.

If the Greenland Ice Sheet melts, the impacts will be enormous. Red areas in this image of southern Florida show locales susceptible to a five meter rise of sea level. Yellow areas denote urban locations.

Lower Emissions Higher Emissions

Historic  CO2  Contributors  of  the  20th  Century