T h e O z o n e H o l e By Paul and Jack

Home What is the Ozone? What Caused the Ozone Hole to Form? How does the Ozone Hole Affect Us? Does the Ozone Hole Affect Plants? Does Pollution Affect the Ozone Hole? Do Bugs Affect the Ozone Hole? Does the Ozone Hole Shift Positions? How Large is the Ozone Hole? Can You See The Ozone Hole? Is the Ozone Hole Permanent? Conclusion

Do Bugs Affect the Ozone Hole? To some extent, bugs, such as termites, make the ozone hole larger. Bugs, like termites, consume wood. As the wood is digested, it produces a waste gas called methane. When the methane is released it increasingly depletes the ozone layer. Home

Does the Ozone Hole Shift Positions? It has been proven that the ozone hole does move, but not by much. Generally, the hole in the ozone stays over Antarctica. It stays over the south pole because it is where very little UV (ultraviolet) light is thrown there, so the ozone over Antarctica is weakest. Home

What is the Ozone? The ozone is the layer of natural gasses in the stratosphere that shields the Earth from harmful UV (ultraviolet) light. Imagine the Earth is going to the beach. UV light is what gives it a sunburn. It doesn’t want to get burned, so it puts on the ozone layer, like sunscreen for the Earth. Home

Is the Ozone Hole Permanent? Technically, the ozone hole is not permanent, but at the rate we are polluting it, it may be impossible to fix. The ozone layer is constantly trying to replenish itself. Every year, as countries are becoming more industrial, we are throwing more and more pollution into the air, making the ozone’s healing process useless. Home

How does the Ozone Hole Affect Us? As said in the first slide, the ozone shields the Earth from UV light. UV light is what gives humans sunburn. When there is very little protective ozone, a lot of UV light get’s through, speeding up the process of burning. This can also cause cancers of the skin. Home

How Large is the Ozone Hole? ` As is, the ozone hole is big enough to affect humans substantially. But, as we increasingly pollute the ozone, it increases in size. The ozone constantly tries to heal itself, so it’s like a tug-of-war with man vs. nature. The ozone hole has peaked in size on Sep. 13, It had an area of 9.7 million sq. miles, roughly the size of North America. Home

Does Pollution Affect the Ozone Hole? Pollution does affect ozone hole. It can happen in one of two ways. Pollution reduces the oxygen from which ozone is created. Another way is that some soot could make it into the ozone layer, thus directly consuming ozone gasses such as CO₂. Home

Can You See The Ozone Layer? No, no matter how hard you look, even with a telescope, you will never see the ozone layer. This is due to the fact that the ozone is made of gasses that are invisible to the naked eye. Home

What Caused the Ozone Hole to Form? The ozone hole formed when humans and their industrial tools cause pollution. The more developed our race is becoming, the more we try to accomplish through machinery. More machinery means more pollution. More pollution means less ozone, thus causing the ozone hole. Home

Does the Ozone Hole Affect Plants? Just like humans, depleted ozone is bad news for plants. The process they depend on for food, photosynthesis, is slowed down dramatically. If the process is slow, they cannot create adequate food. Without enough food, the plants will die. Home

Conclusion Now that you know the importance of our ozone layer, we hope you will do all you can to preserve this God-given gift that allows us to live life to our fullest ability. So think about this gift of mother nature every time you drive past a factory or are about to throw a plastic bottle in a fire, you may be shortening your life.