Envirolert: 2008 Ozone Hole Is Second Largest Ever
November 7, 2008
NASA is reporting that the hole in the world’s ozone layer reached it’s second largest size ever in 2008. The Ozone Hole, which is generally found above Antarctica, hit it’s record size in 2006. The last Ozone measurement reported a hole roughly 27 million square kilometers in size–roughly the same size as North America.
Many people still question the significance of the Ozone Hole. Most people agree that it contributes nothing to global warming, and may in fact actually help to cool down the area that it surrounds. The general problem with this conclusion is that the Antarctic region is still showing significantly high temperature recordings than in times past. What does this mean? This means that if the ozone Hole fully recovers by 2069, as planned, than the Antarctic region may see a very significant increase in temperature.
So What does the Ozone Layer do?
The earth’s ozone layer actually works as a UV force-field. It blocks many of the Ultraviolet rays from hitting the Earth’s surface. Scientists claim that if this layer were to take a significant drop, than plants would suffer, skin cancer would be more prevalent, and the oceans plankton would die off.
So What do we want more? Dead Oceans or a melted continent? I choose neither. I am not sure if there is a good answer on this discussion, but it looks like either choice may be the bad one.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under Envirolert |
The hole is not 27 million kilometers in diameter. Think about it. The earth is only 12,000 kilometers (approximately) in diameter. The hole, as reported at http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1030-ozone.html is 27 million square kilometers. Big difference.
Good catch. I have updated the post.