What is the ozone layer? Most people won’t be able to tell you the full definition. The ozone layer is a layer in the earth’s stratosphere. It starts at an altitude of about 6.2 miles (10km) and contains a high concentration of ozone (m-w.com). The sun produces ultraviolet radiation, which can be harmful to people. This is why we have to wear sunscreen when we go outside in warmer weather. The ozone layer blocks most of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Sadly, all the pollution that humans have been releasing into the world has caused the ozone layer to weaken. This is known as the ozone hole.

As mentioned previously, the ozone blocks a lot of the sun’s UV rays, allowing us to live. As the ozone layer starts to disappear there is a greater chance of a person getting skin cancer, and other skin related diseases. Also, if the ozone layer was to vanish completely no plants or animals would be able to survive. Most people don’t really know how much the ozone layer helps us in our survival, and unfortunately don’t try to do anything to stop the ozone hole that is growing bigger everyday.

What is causing the ozone hole to grow? It’s multiple substances, that have been given the nickname greenhouse gases. To start off, sterilization. This is a term referring to any process that eliminates forms of microbial life. Sterilization makes up 3% of the products that are the cause of ozone depletion. Next are aerosols, an example of these are hair spray, febreeze, or spray on sunscreen. They cause 5% of the ozone hole. Continuing, foam products. 14.3% of the materials that cause the ozone hole are foam products. Refrigeration and air conditioning cause 29.6%. Finally, the chemical that causes the most damage, are solvent cleaning products, at 36.1% (Science Chat Forum).
There are plenty of ways ozone depletion can be reduced or stopped. Carpooling, walking, or using public transportation are other options besides private vehicle driving. Also, if someone switched their normal cleaning supplies with eco friendly ones, they would be decreasing the formation of the ozone hole. Lastly, avoid using any pesticides. Other options would be to manually weed or use natural remedies.

It’s surprising, the number of people who don’t realize how huge of an issue the ozone hole is. Even if all use of greenhouse gases stopped, the unpredictable weather forecasts would still appear for about the next hundred years due to all the carbon dioxide that has been released (New York Times). Different procedures have been taken to decrease the size of the hole, but it can’t be fully restored without everyone’s help.

http://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2157
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/from-ozone-depletion-enduring-effects/
http://www.greendiary.com/5-ways-prevent-ozone-depletion.html
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/doc/uvradiation.html