Bottled Water: Bad for You, Bad for the Earth

If you are using bottled water, you are spending up to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water, thinking it safe and pure, even though this bottled water can be even worse. In addition to the health risks bottled water may pose, it harmsl the environment. Bottled water, thought to be an healthy alternative, now is criticized as an environmental menace, and for health risks bottled water may pose from the presence of harmful chemicals.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has found chemical contaminants present in every bottled water brand they have analyzed. The bottled water industry is not required to disclose the results of any contaminant testing that it conducts on bottled water products. On the other hand, tap water consumers are provided with water quality test results carried out every year. The attractive and expensive advertisement campaigns by the bottled water industry tempts us to believe that we are buying water that has been purified to a level beyond the municipal tap. Thus, we end up piling up water bottles, thinking the bottled water cleaner than the water that comes out of the garden hose. The truth is that tap water has to go through more stringent quality standards than bottled water. Studies have proven that some brands of bottled water are just tap water in disguise.
Environmental Costs of Bottled Water
The environment cost that we are paying for these bottles is even higher. The bottled water industry causes a severe strain on the environment, as rightly said by Eric Olsen of Natural Resources Defense Council ”It causes 60 million plastic bottles A DAY to be manufactured, transported and then disposed of in U.S. landfills. It’s killing our planet, and for no good reason…” An estimated 1.5 million gallons of oil is used to make plastic water bottles, and much more is consumed transporting these bottles. This oil is enough to run more than 100,000 cars for a whole year. Burning of this oil releases a lot of air pollutants, which are responsible greenhouse effect and global warming.

Bottled Water Wastes Water

Bottling plants extract a lot of water in the areas near bottling plants, which in turn has led to water shortages in those areas. This is affecting people living nearby. Much water gets wasted in the process of purification of the water itself. It is said that two gallons of water is wasted in the purification process for every gallon. This is in addition to the millions of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process.

Bottled Water Creates Solid Waste

Only 10% of water bottles used in a day are recycled. This leaves a lot of wastes in the landfills, and these plastic bottles takes thousands of years to decompose. Waste management has become a large problem in the world, with the number and size of landfills growing. Some bottles are washed and reused to lessen their negative impact on the environment, which again questions the purity of the water contained in the bottles. Reusing plastic bottles lowers the quality of the water, since more and more phthalates leaches from a bottle as it gets older.

The solution
•Buy a filter pitcher. Refill it whenever you need. You can have two or three pitchers, so that you never run out of filtered water at home. These pitchers are available in different sizes and can be kept in car while you are travelling.
•Get an inexpensive faucet filter to remove traces of chemicals and bacteria.
•Use a reusable bottle and refill it along the way. Travel bottles with built-in filters are also available in stores.
•Use activated carbon water filters, like Brita pitchers or faucet attachments. They are affordable option for filtering tap water.
•If you can afford you can have a reverse osmosis filter, which will eliminate all impurities.
The above suggested ways are good both for your health and wallet, above all for the planet.

Source-http://www.greendivamom.com/author/savneet/

How you Poison your morning with Personal Care Products

Let us look at a typical morning for many of us which starts with the alarm buzz. You sit up in bed, yawn and stretch and then glance at the clock. You wish to have a few more minutes of sleep. But, you know you can't stay in the bed longer, so you stagger into the bathroom. From here starts the whole process of poisoning our body with numerous chemicals.

The poisoning goes on till you get ready to move out of the house.

Read how you get toxic chemicals in you body: http://www.healthmad.com/Home-Health/How-You-Poison-Your-Morning-with-Personal-Care-Products.570841

Beware of the Indoor Pollution

According to an estimate by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the quality of air inside our homes and offices is 2-5% more polluted as compared to outside. Americans those who spend 90% of their time indoors should find a way to reduce airborne pollutants and allergens that they breathe inside homes. Even low levels of indoor air pollutants might have serious effect on the respiratory system.

Some sources of air pollution inside home are:
Smoking
Pets
Carpets
Out gassing from furniture, insulation and building materials (especially particle board and plywood)
Cleaning and Personal Care Products
Paints & Varnishes

Indoor air pollution in homes can be reduced in following ways:

Controlling the source of pollution : This includes the use of the products those are non polluting and non toxic. For example use use low emission paints & varnishes, carpets and furniture .Similarly make use of natural and non toxic cleaning and personal care products. Instead of using synthetic carpet you can beautify your home with tiles or hardwood floors. Get your combustion appliances serviced regularly.

Read more:http://www.articlefit.com/Air-inside-your-home-is-more-polluted-than-outdoors/a8556_1

Green and Fun household Recycling

Solid waste generation has nearly tripled in the United States since 1960, increasing from 88.1 million tons to 229.2 million tons. Can you guess the reason for this upward trend? Is it just a result of increased population? Not quite. As the black line indicates, our per capita waste generation has also increased, from 2.7 lbs per person per day to 4.5 lbs per person per day.* A grand total of 246 million tons of trash was created in 2005 alone.

Read more on: http://www.greendivamom.com/2009/01/31/green-fun-household-recycling-putting-household-waste-to-use/

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

A variety of environmental problems now affect our entire world. As globalization continues and the earth's natural processes transform local problems into international issues, few societies are being left untouched by major environmental problems.
Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste,, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction. Etc.
Let us start with acid rain

Acid rain
The term acid rain refers to what scientists call acid deposition. It is caused by airborne acidic pollutants and has highly destructive results. Scientists first discovered acid rain in 1852, when the English chemist Robert Agnus invented the term. From then until now, acid rain has been an issue of intense debate among scientists and policy makers.
Acid rain, one of the most important environmental problems of all, cannot be seen. The invisible gases that cause acid rain usually come from automobiles or coal-burning power plants. Acid rain moves easily, affecting locations far beyond those that let out the pollution. As a result, this global pollution issue causes great debates between countries that fight over polluting each other's environments.
For years, science studied the true causes of acid rain. Some scientists concluded that human production was primarily responsible, while others cited natural causes as well. Recently, more intensive research has been done so that countries have the information they need to prevent acid rain and its dangerous effects. The levels of acid rain vary from region to region. In Third World nations without pollution restrictions, acid rain tends to be very high. In Eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union, acid rain levels have also risen greatly. However, because acid rain can move about so easily, the problem is definitely a global one.

Cause of acid rain
For many years, there was considerable debate and disagreement over what caused acid rain. Recent scientific work, however, has helped to clarify this .
The primary causes of acid rain are sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These chemicals are released by certain industrial processes, and as a result, the more industrialized nations of Europe as well as the US suffer severely from acid rain.
Most sulphur dioxide comes from power plants that use coal as their fuel. These plants emit 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 70% of that in the world. automobiles produce about half of the world's nitrogen oxide. As the number of automobiles in use increases, so does the amount of acid rain. Power plants that burn fossil fuels also contribute significantly to nitrogen oxide emission.
Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid rain, natural causes exist as well. Fires, volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition, and lightening also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However, even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helens released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year.
Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles. Eventually, the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful, chemicals. Acid rain comes down to the earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, frost, or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products, such as car finishes.


Effects of acid rain
Acid rain is having harmful effects both on people and on the natural ecosystems of the world. Scientists today are convinced that acid rain is severe in many areas, and that it is having an adverse effect on the environments of those locations.
The problem of acid rain is rapidly spreading. Because it is mainly caused by industrial processes, automobiles, and power plants, those countries that are developed have the most severe acid rain problems. However, as the undeveloped nations begin to industrialize, acid rain will increase greatly.
Determining just how much the planet is being hurt by acid rain is very difficult because the ecosystems that it affects are so diverse and complex. Many ecosystems are affected by acid rain. Bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, see many of their inhabitants die off due to rising acidity levels.
Acidic water also ruins plant nutrients, hurting plants' ability to survive and to give life to other organisms. Human-made products are also experiencing degradation from acid rain. Cars can lose their finishes, and outdoor statues are beginning to rust.
Acid rain's effects are destructive and long lasting. Though scientists have studied lakes, streams, and many other natural ecosystems to prove its negative effects, acid rain continues to be produced and is increasing in many parts of the world.
The chains of connection are crystal clear. Greenhouse gases are connected to energy production and consumption, which connects to the explosion of population and growth, which increases water shortages made worse by energy demands, practices of forest and agricultural management. These influence land erosion that increases flooding. Global warming intensifies weather, droughts and forest fires. The warming of polar regions affects ocean currents, their patterns, the conditions for all marine species.

GLOBAL ENVIRONMEANTAL ISSUES

A variety of environmental problems now affect our entire world. As globalization continues and the earth's natural processes transform local problems into international issues, few societies are being left untouched by major environmental problems.
Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste,, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction. Etc.
Every environmental problem has causes, numerous effects,some of these problems have been discussed here.

Acid rain
The term acid rain refers to what scientists call acid deposition. It is caused by airborne acidic pollutants and has highly destructive results. Scientists first discovered acid rain in 1852, when the English chemist Robert Agnus invented the term. From then until now, acid rain has been an issue of intense debate among scientists and policy makers.
Acid rain, one of the most important environmental problems of all, cannot be seen. The invisible gases that cause acid rain usually come from automobiles or coal-burning power plants. Acid rain moves easily, affecting locations far beyond those that let out the pollution. As a result, this global pollution issue causes great debates between countries that fight over polluting each other's environments.
For years, science studied the true causes of acid rain. Some scientists concluded that human production was primarily responsible, while others cited natural causes as well. Recently, more intensive research has been done so that countries have the information they need to prevent acid rain and its dangerous effects. The levels of acid rain vary from region to region. In Third World nations without pollution restrictions, acid rain tends to be very high. In Eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union, acid rain levels have also risen greatly. However, because acid rain can move about so easily, the problem is definitely a global one.

Cause of acid rain
For many years, there was considerable debate and disagreement over what caused acid rain. Recent scientific work, however, has helped to clarify this .
The primary causes of acid rain are sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These chemicals are released by certain industrial processes, and as a result, the more industrialized nations of Europe as well as the US suffer severely from acid rain.
Most sulphur dioxide comes from power plants that use coal as their fuel. These plants emit 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 70% of that in the world. automobiles produce about half of the world's nitrogen oxide. As the number of automobiles in use increases, so does the amount of acid rain. Power plants that burn fossil fuels also contribute significantly to nitrogen oxide emission.
Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid rain, natural causes exist as well. Fires, volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition, and lightening also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However, even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helens released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year.
Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles. Eventually, the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful, chemicals. Acid rain comes down to the earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, frost, or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products, such as car finishes.

Effects of acid rain
Acid rain is having harmful effects both on people and on the natural ecosystems of the world. Scientists today are convinced that acid rain is severe in many areas, and that it is having an adverse effect on the environments of those locations.
The problem of acid rain is rapidly spreading. Because it is mainly caused by industrial processes, automobiles, and power plants, those countries that are developed have the most severe acid rain problems. However, as the undeveloped nations begin to industrialize, acid rain will increase greatly.
Determining just how much the planet is being hurt by acid rain is very difficult because the ecosystems that it affects are so diverse and complex. Many ecosystems are affected by acid rain. Bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, see many of their inhabitants die off due to rising acidity levels.
Acidic water also ruins plant nutrients, hurting plants' ability to survive and to give life to other organisms. Human-made products are also experiencing degradation from acid rain. Cars can lose their finishes, and outdoor statues are beginning to rust.
Acid rain's effects are destructive and long lasting. Though scientists have studied lakes, streams, and many other natural ecosystems to prove its negative effects, acid rain continues to be produced and is increasing in many parts of the world.

The chains of connection are crystal clear. Greenhouse gases are connected to energy production and consumption, which connects to the explosion of population and growth, which increases water shortages made worse by energy demands, practices of forest and agricultural management. These influence land erosion that increases flooding. Global warming intensifies weather, droughts and forest fires. The warming of polar regions affects ocean currents, their patterns, the conditions for all marine species.


Global warming
Global warming remains the most complex environmental problem of our time.On June 23, 1988, James Hansen, the director of the Goddard Institute at NASA, told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that global warming was a reality and that is was extremely dangerous.
Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, immediately received international attention. Scientists, environmentalists, and governments around the world took an interest in the subject. Global warming is called the greenhouse effect because the gases that are gathering above the earth make the planet comparable to a greenhouse. By trapping heat near the surface of the earth, the greenhouse effect is warming the planet and threatening the environment. The molecules responsible for this phenomenon are called greenhouse gases, i.e. water (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) because they act like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping re-radiated energy. Without these gases most life on earth would not be possible, as the surface temperature of the earth would likely be about 60°F colder.
In essence, greenhouse gases act like an insulator or blanket above the earth, keeping the heat in. Increasing the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere increases the atmosphere's ability to block the escape of infrared radiation. In other words, the earth's insulator gets thicker. Therefore too great a concentration of greenhouse gases can have dramatic effects on climate and significant repercussions upon the world around us. Climates suitable for human existence do not exist simply above some minimum threshold level of greenhouse gas concentration, rather they exist within a finite window - a limited range of greenhouse gas concentrations that makes life as we know it possible.

In the 1800s, as the Industrial Revolution takes off, atmospheric CO2 concentrations begin an unprecedented upward climb, rising rapidly from 280 ppmv (parts per million by volume) in the early 1800s to a current level of 376 ppmv, 77 ppmv above the highest concentrations previously attained in the course of the preceding 400 thousand years.
Current fears stem largely from the fact that global warming is occurring at such a rapid pace. Models are predicting that over the next century, the global temperature will rise by several degrees.
Some scientists still do not think that the effects of global warming are as severe as some people say. They think that droughts, hurricanes, and floods often blamed on global warming might actually have other causes.
One major difficulty in studying global warming is the fact that weather data only exists for the last century and a half. As a result, understanding the present and predicting the future are very difficult.
Global warming has a variety of causes. One of the largest factors contributing to global warming is the general problem of overpopulation and its many effects.
The greater number of people consume more items which take more energy to make, they drive more cars, and create larger amounts of garbage. These factors all increase the global warming problem. Many different gases can increase the planet's temperature. The number of different products and human activities that contribute to global warming are so numerous that finding solutions to the problem is very difficult.
Using a refrigerator releases dangerous gases, turning on the lights requires energy from a power plant, and driving to work causes gas emissions from the car. Countless other normal activities lead to global warming.
Though having an atmosphere is important, the greenhouse effect may be making it excessively thick. The levels of gases covering the Earth have soared with industrialization, and developed countries now produce about 75% of greenhouse gases.
The most common gas is carbon dioxide, accounting for about 50% of all greenhouse gases. Other gases, including methane, CFCs, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, also contribute to forming the greenhouse layer. Because these gases are produced by so many important and common processes, limiting their production to prevent global warming will be difficult. Human beings are causing the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at rates much faster than the earth can cycle them. Fossil fuels - oil, coal, natural gas, and their derivatives - are formed through the compression of organic (once living) material for millions of years, and we are burning billions of tons of these fuels per year. Why is this disconcerting? Because the CO2 expelled into the atmosphere through these activities does not disappear immediately or even over the course of a year As population increases and Third World countries begin to use greater amounts of energy, the problem may expand rather than contract. To know just what the effects of global warming will be in the future is extremely difficult .Scientists predict the Earth will warm by 1.4 - 5.8C by 2100.
Most scientists blame - at least in part - increasing amounts of certain gases emitted by fossil fuel burning and other human activities source : BBC

Some scientists say global warming has already been going on for a while. Others say that we do not have enough information now to know for sure.
Despite the disagreements, most scientists are convinced that greenhouse gases are warming the Earth. What they are still trying to figure out is how quickly temperatures are rising, and what will happen as a result.
The climate changes that will result from global warming are extremely difficult to predict. The weather is determined by so many factors that it is often compared to chaos by scientists. Changing the temperature will likely have some effect on the planet's weather, but just what that effect will be is nearly impossible to predict.
If temperatures do indeed rise significantly, the most important result would be that some portion of the polar icecaps would melt, raising global sea levels.
The rise in sea levels would be disastrous for some places. Islands would disappear, meaning their millions of inhabitants would have to relocate. Flooding would occur along coastlines all over the world, displacing more people and ruining cropland.
In the case of major global warming and melted ice caps, some countries might simply cease to exist. Global warming, if uncontrolled, could cause a major catastrophe.
Certain laws and treaties are aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants that result in global warming. In 1988, the International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere drew scientists and decision makers from 48 countries.
Some policies could successfully reduce global warming. Raising fossil fuel, prices, taxing emissions, and encouraging people to take environmentally friendly action through such activities as planting trees will all help.
Because many problems leading to global warming are caused or contributed to by overpopulation, people are beginning to work to reduce family sizes. Family planning services actually help in the fight against global warming. Education is a key method of reducing the greenhouse effect. By teaching people about such things as deforestation, environmental activists hope to prevent the problems that ultimately lead to global warming.

OZONE -The life force

OZONE -The life force

We know that our atmosphere has mainly four layers. The stratosphere extends from about 15 km to 50 km. In the stratosphere temperature increases with altitude, due to the absorption of UV light by oxygen and ozone. This creates a global "inversion layer" which impedes vertical motion into and within the stratosphere - since warmer air lies above colder air, convection is inhibited. The word "stratosphere" is related to the word "stratification" or layering. The stratosphere is often compared to the "troposphere", which is the atmosphere below about 15 km. The boundary - called the "tropopause" - between these regions is quite sharp, but its precise location varies between ~9 and ~18 km, depending upon latitude and season. The prefix "tropo" refers to change: the troposphere is the part of the atmosphere in which weather occurs. This results in rapid mixing of tropospheric air. Above the stratosphere lie the "mesosphere", ranging from ~50 to ~100 km, in which temperature decreases with altitude; the "thermosphere", ~100-400 km, in which temperature increases with altitude again, and the "exosphere", beyond ~400 km, which fades into the background of interplanetary space The density of the air in the atmosphere depends upon altitude, and in a complicated way because the temperature also varies with altitude.

Ozone
Ozone is formed naturally in the upper stratosphere by shortwavelength ultraviolet radiation. Wavelengths less than ~240nanometers are absorbed by oxygen molecules (O₂), which dissociate to give O atoms. The O atoms combine with other oxygen molecules to make ozone: O₂ + hv -> O + O (wavelength <> O₃

Ozone depletion
Concern has grown about depletion of the ozone layer - particularly the ozone 'hole' which has been detected over Antarctica in spring, and can spread as far as South America and the Falkland Islands. An ozone hole is established when a large percentage of ozone is destroyed. Ozone depletion over the Arctic is not as severe. Depletion has also been detected over northern Europe. The extent of depletion is seasonal and dependent on weather conditions. In 2003 the Antarctic hole reached record size - 28 million km2, after reducing in 2002. Damage to the ozone layer is attributed to pollutants from human activity - the main culprits are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons. Scientists estimate that it will be 2050 before efforts to reduce CFCs etc in the stratosphere will pay off.

Ozone Depleters
CFCs and Halons
Man-made CFCs are the main cause of stratospheric ozone depletion. CFCs have a lifetime of about 20 to 100 years, and consequently one free chlorine atom from a CFC molecule can do a lot of damage, destroying ozone molecules for a long time. Although emissions of CFCs around the developed world have largely ceased due to international control agreements, the damage to the stratospheric ozone layer will continue for a number of years to come.CFCs have been used as propellants in aerosols, refrigeration, air conditioning, foam packaging and insulating materials. Halons are used in fire extinguishers. When they break down in the atmosphere, CFCs release chlorine (Cl) and halons release bromine (Br). Both of these gases destroy ozone, for example - Cl + O₃ ¨ ClO + O₂
- the chlorine monoxide then reacts with an oxygen atom, liberating the chlorine -
ClO + O ¨ Cl + O₂
- which is then free to destroy another ozone molecule. Chlorine takes several years to reach the stratosphere, and remains there for many years. The pie chart below shows the uses of CFCs in various products before the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which required countries to phase out their usage to protect the ozone layer.


HCFCs
When it was confirmed that CFCs cause ozone destruction, manufacturers looked for alternatives. HCFCs were introduced as a CFC substitute. However, these also have ozone depleting properties. They do less damage in the long term, but act much more rapidly than CFCs.
Other ChemicalsThe industrial solvents carbon tetrachloride (used in medicines, pesticides and paints) and methyl chloroform (a cleaning solvent) are also ozone destroyers. Methyl bromide is a pesticide used to fumigate soils and stored crops and is produced naturally by seaweed. It releases bromine, which destroys up to 60 times as much ozone as CFCs and worldwide emissions are increasing by 5-6% a year.

Efforts to reduce production and use of these damaging chemicals will not have an immediate effect in restoring the ozone layer - in fact, ozone depletion may well increase before it improves as it takes time for gases released to reach the upper atmosphere. Scientists believe that ozone depleting gases have reached their limit in the upper atmosphere, but that it will take decades for concentrations to decline and the stratosphere to return to normal. Therefore it is crucial that nations stick to timetables for reduction in use agreed in the Montreal Protocol.

Hole over the Antarctic
Every winter and spring since the late 1970s, an ozone hole has formed in the stratosphere above the Antarctic continent. In recent years this hole has become both larger and deeper.
Man-made emissions of CFCs occur mainly in the northern hemisphere, with about 90% released in Europe, Russia, Japan, and North America. Gases such as CFCs that are insoluble in water and relatively unreactive are mixed throughout the lower atmosphere and rise from the lower atmosphere into the stratosphere; winds then move this air poleward.
Normally, chlorine and bromine is inactive, locked up in stable compounds, and does not destroy the ozone. However, during the Antarctic winter months (June to August) when the region receives no sunlight, the stratosphere becomes cold enough (-80°C) for high level [ice] clouds to form, called Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). These PSCs provide an ideal catalytic surface on which the chlorine can react with the ozone, thus destroying the ozone layer. This reaction requires sunlight, and therefore only begins when the Sun returns to Antarctica in spring (September to October), before the PSCs have had a chance to melt. The ozone hole disappears again when the Antarctic air warms up enough during late spring and summer. During the southern hemisphere winter, Antarctica is isolated from the rest of the world by a natural circulation of wind called the polar vortex. This prevents atmospheric mixing of stratospheric ozone, thus contributing to the depletion of ozone. Although some ozone depletion occurs over the Arctic, meteorological conditions there are very different to Antarctica and so far have prevented the formation of ozone holes as large as in the southern hemisphere.

Harmful effects of ozone
The increases in UV radiation associated with ozone depletion are likely to lead to increases in the incidence and/or severity of a variety of short-term and long-term health effects, if current exposure practices are not modified by changes in behavior

The most well-known effect of UV radiation is the slight reddening or burning of the skin in sunshine. This change of colour is caused by an expansion of the skin's blood vessels. For most people burning is followed by tanning within a couple of days. A permanent tan will occur when the UV radiation causes a pigment called melanin to form in the pigment cells of the skin. Over a period of years, exposure to radiation originating from the Sun causes damages in the skin's connective tissues, so-called photo-ageing. This shows itself as a thickening of the skin, as wrinkles and decreasing elasticity. Elastine and collagen fibres determining the firmness and elasticity of the skin are damaged. UV radiation increases the risk of getting skin cancer.
Australia, with high sunshine levels, has very high skin cancer rates. An estimated 2 out of every 3 people in most parts of the country will develop some form of skin cancer.
Strong UV radiation can cause inflammation of the cornea leading to photokeratosis or "snow blindness". Symptoms of this kind of an infection include the eyes becoming reddish, a sensitivity to light, enhanced excretion of tears, the feeling of having some dirt in one's eye, and pain. The trauma appears 3-12 hours after exposure. Thanks to the quick regeneration of the eye cells, symptoms will normally disappear within a few days. A long-term exposure to UV radiation may cause permanent damage to the cornea.
Adverse effects include depressed resistance to certain tumors and infectious diseases, potential impairment of vaccination responses, and possibly increased severity of some autoimmune and allergic responses. Beneficial effects could include decreases in the severity of certain immunologic diseases/conditions such as psoriasis and nickel allergy.

Effect on environment
The increase in UV radiation over the last couple of decades could cause disastrous effects for the environment. Amphibian populations all over the world are experiencing a sharp decline, and many scientist speculate that this could be because of increased UV-B radiation, as amphibian eggs are transparent and highly susceptible. Many plants have shown a decrease in photosynthetic activity when bombarded with increased levels of UV-B radiation. Photosynthesis is a integral part of the food cycle as plants can create sugar from water and sunlight. However, loss of this ability would prove disastrous.
Phytoplanktons are the most important biomass producers in aquatic systems. When increased levels o f UV-B radiation come down, phytoplankton experience a decrease in mobility and orientation. This decrease results in reduced survival rates for phytoplankton.


Montreal protocol
The depletion of the ozone layer is one of the most prominent issues today that is truly global. As such, it required the whole world to come together to work out some sort of action to be taken. Most efforts would be useless in the long run unless everyone cooperated. When the problem first arose, governments of the world came together to decide what sort of restrictions should and could be made to work towards a solution. The first meeting, the Montreal Protocol, occurred in 1987. Since then, countries throughout the world have come together and worked individually to solve the problem.

It first met in 1987, 24 countries came together to set standards for phasing out of ozone depleting chemicals. These chemicals, which are commonly used as refrigerants and propellants, cause serious damage to the ozone layer. A schedule was set up for technologically developed countries to set regulations for the amount of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) that could be produced each year, gradually reducing the amount each year until they had been reduced to 50% in the year 2000. For less-developed countries, they would have the same schedule but ten years later.
It quickly became evident that a faster phase-out schedule would be feasible. The Montreal Protocol met again in 1990, this time with 93 countries in attendance. Rates of allowed CFC production were drastically reduced across the schedule, and now CFCs would be completely out of production in developed nations by the year 2000.