The Ozone Layer & Us
Without the ozone layer not only would mankind and most forms of present day life not exist but the environment of the planet would also be very different.
What is the History of the Ozone Layer?
Hundreds of millions of years ago, only single cell organisms existed on Earth and the planet lacked the oxygen that is needed in order for our survival. Through photosynthesis as these organisms evolved they began to release small amounts of oxygen. Over millions of years, this led to the creation of the ozone layer.
What is the Ozone Layer?
Our atmosphere is split into layers. The troposphere is where we live. Above that is the stratosphere. While ozone exists to some degree in all of the layers most of it (about 90%) is produced naturally in the stratosphere.
By acting like a filter or a web the ozone layer plays a very important part in protecting us from most of the sun’s harmful radiation. It traps harmful radiation while still allowing heat from the sun to reach the Earth.
Scientists believe that without it we would most likely die. We would quickly suffer intense radiation burns. We would be forced to find a way to safeguard ourselves by wearing clothing made from special protective material or by living underground. A lot of the plant life that humans and animals depend on would die out, making food sources extremely scarce.
What is Ozone?
Ozone is a type of oxygen. Unlike the oxygen we need to breathe, it’s a poisonous gas. Ozone in the stratosphere is good and performs a vital function but ozone at ground level is bad.
Do we Affect the Ozone Layer?
The ozone layer begins about six miles above us and extends to around 30 miles above. Scientific records show that until the 1970s, its level remained fairly stable.
There have always been factors such as the seasons, weather conditions and solar cycles which affect its density, but these are all part of a natural cycle where ozone is continually formed, destroyed and formed again.
In the 1970s scientists discovered that this natural balance had been upset and that the ozone layer was being depleted. Ozone was being destroyed at a faster rate than it was being naturally produced. Research determined that much of the damage was being caused by man-made chemicals, most of which had been introduced since the 1920s.
What is the Montreal Protocol?
In 1985, scientists with the British Antarctic Survey discovered a “hole” in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Two years later over 20 countries signed an international agreement, known as the Montreal Protocol.
The Montreal Protocol called for the phasing out of ozone depleting chemicals, including CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) thought to be responsible for damage to the ozone layer. Many other countries have since signed up to the agreement and it has proved to be extremely successful. Former UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, described it as probably the most successful international agreement ever signed.
What is Being Done to Protect the Ozone Layer?
The phasing out of ozone depleting substances (ODS) is helping to fight climate change since many ODS are also powerful greenhouse gases.
Now that ozone levels are constantly monitored experts predict that by 2070, the ozone layer will have returned to pre-1980 levels. It’s expected to take this long to “repair” itself because the chemicals which caused the damage remain in the stratosphere for many years.
How Does it Affect Us?
It was suggested that higher concentrations of ozone at ground level could affect people’s health and history has shown that ozone is now known to be a main ingredient of today’s city smog and aggravates conditions like asthma, bronchitis and lung disease.
Scientists in America believe it has already led to an increase in the number of deaths from the most fatal form of skin cancer. and experts are concerned that new factors could continue to damage the ozone layer causing a slow down or even preventing its recovery. Some scientists believe that global warming is likely to accelerate ozone depletion.
What are the Dangers of Lower Ozone Levels?
Low levels of solar UV are vital in the production of Vitamin D. Without exposure to the sun, people would suffer from diseases linked to Vitamin D deficiency. Too much UV exposure damages our DNA and causes skin cancer, causes damage to the eyes and scientists now believe that it affects the immune system, allowing people to become ill more easily.
There are also serious impacts for biodiversity. Increased UV-B rays reduce levels of plankton in the oceans and subsequently diminish fish stocks. It can also have adverse effects on plant growth resulting in reduced agricultural productivity.
What is The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer?
Celebrated on September 16 every year to focus on the importance of protecting human health and the environment. On this day primary and secondary school educators throughout the world organize classroom activities that focus on topics related to the ozone layer, climate change and ozone depletion. Some teachers use educational packages from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that have been specifically tailored to address topics about the earth’s ozone layer.
Other activities organized by different community groups, individuals, schools and local organizations across the world include: the promotion of ozone friendly products; special programs and events on saving the ozone layer. (http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/international-ozone-layer-preservation-day)
How are Trees Beneficial?
Trees are vital, nurturing forces which provide many benefits to our environment. The air we breathe is improved by the presence of trees. Trees absorb harmful chemicals such as carbon monoxide and in turn give off oxygen. They filter and trap pollutants such as smoke, dust and ash making our air cleaner.
Trees absorb water thus preventing flooding and also help disperse rainfall over a more even area. By retaining water, trees help reduce the amount of topsoil that runs off into our sewers and streams. Leaves on the ground, keep moisture close to the ground aiding growth and trapping chemicals keeping them out of lakes and rivers.
Trees help maintain our global environment by acting as enormous carbon sinks. Trees absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. If there were no trees to perform this essential function, little could be done to alleviate the effects of global warming caused by the Greenhouse Effect.
Trees not only benefit our physical environment, but also attract birds and other wildlife.
Trees are also a source of medicine for the human race. Many people, tired of chemical treatments, turn to trees and plants for assistance.
For instance the ginkgo tree dates back more than 300 million years and is the oldest know species of tree. For centuries the Chinese have used tea made from ginkgo seeds as a cure for respiratory illnesses, such as asthma. In more modern times, ginkgo leaf extract has been used as a treatment for a wide range of ailments such as Alzheimer’s and depression. The Native Americans use Aspen bark for reducing fever and fighting influenza. More recently, the medical community has taken more notice of the natural cures found all around us as herbology continues to grow in popularity.
Earth Day – April 22, 2009
Earth Day April 22, 2009 will mark the beginning of The Green Generation CampaignTM which will also be the focus of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. http://www.earthday.net/earthday2009
Plan a special Earth Day event. This issue is important enough to be elevated to a national day of recognition. That should be a good enough reason for all of us to take a closer look at how our current habits and actions are impacting the environment.
Everyone should be figuring out ways and implementing efforts they can exercise in order to help protect our environment not only for this one day but every day of the year!
Encourage friends and family members to get actively involved in environmental education programs. Strive to support and bring awareness to issues that have great personal importance to you and your community.
Teach your children the importance of their role in helping to preserve and save our environment as well as the environment that will be their future. This offers a wonderful opportunity for you to connect with your children. Get outside and plant some flowers, bushes or trees. Collaborate with teachers and faculty members to initiate green campaigns that actively involve and educate children on the importance of saving our environment.
Once habits have been established they are difficult to break. Make reusing and recycling a way of life. Pay attention to what your children are most interested in doing then work toward getting them directly involved to help support, maintain or improve the causes that are important to them.
There are so many environmental agencies helping to connect people with nature making it easier to research and get educated on all the spectacular environmental efforts going on not only in your area but all around the world!
Tree Bark – Interesting Facts and Information
Bark is the outer protective covering of a tree. It adapts to protect a living tree from the environment and shields delicate tissues from diseases and harmful insect attacks.
Fact: Bark thickness varies in different species of trees. The protective covering of the madrone, also known as the madroño, madroña, bearberry, or strawberry tree, is very thin, but the bark on a few of the giant sequoia trees in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is two feet thick!
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service the total annual United States production of bark may be well above 20 million tons. Since one of the major costs in processing any natural material is the cost of collection, bark, for which collection costs have already been paid, has become increasingly attractive as a potential raw material.
Bark is composed of non living tissue on the outside and living tissue on the inside. The history and modern uses of bark, on SavATree.com, reports that for centuries the people of the Amazon basin have harvested the fibers from tree bark and used it to make a variety of functional objects.
Most commonly used to make baskets, bark was also used to craft canoes and corks.
Fact: Canoes have been in use for over 3000 years.
The first Canadian canoes were made with paper birch bark. It took many labor-intensive hours complete but they turned out to be amazingly durable. Now canoes are produced using a synthetic equivalent of birch bark. Birch bark is still widely used in the production of souvenirs in Europe.
All bark contains some cork. Cork oak trees produce enough of this substance to make it economical to harvest and it is not necessary for the tree to be cut down. Dead bark can be stripped from the tree without harming it as long as the stripping is done carefully to ensure the living inner bark is not damaged and if it is done at intervals of at least ten years. The first stripping takes place when the tree is twenty years old and produces poor-quality cork. The second stripping occurs ten years later and produces better cork. High-grade cork is not produced until the tree is at least fifty years old. These trees continue to bear cork for two hundred years and the quality improves after each ten-year stripping until it reaches its peak.
Fact: Imported cork oaks grow in California but the oldest and most productive trees are native to the western Mediterranean Sea area.
In certain areas of the world, bark has been used for years to create extravagant clothing. South America, Africa, Japan and South East Asia were all pioneers in the creation of bark clothing such as belts, headdresses and caps. Similar to the Amazonians, cloth was produced and manufactured into capes, blankets and other articles of clothing. Wearing clothing made from bark was a sign of wealth and was strictly worn by the elite upper class.
The uses of bark are unlimited and viable. There is an enormous amount of research being conducted in the medical field to determine the benefits of bark. Researchers recently declared that anti inflammatory compounds called phenolics found in the bark of Scotch pine may prove effective in fighting arthritis.
Fact: Scotch pine is the number one selling Christmas tree.
Researchers believe that pine bark extract might potentially treat various health problems such as high blood pressure, asthma and heart disease.
Willow bark extract is currently being used and prescribed in Europe to treat lower back pain. A popular anesthetic, tubocurarine, is extracted from bark. There are also a few cancer drugs that are extracted from bark such as the South African cape bush willow which supplies treatments for lung and ovarian cancer.
Fact: The main ingredient in aspirin, salicylic acid, is obtained from poplar and willow bark.
An oil in the young bark of an evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) produces a spicy cinnamon flavor. The bark is peeled from young twigs, tightly rolled then and dried to produce cinnamon sticks often used to season hot tea or holiday drinks. Powdered cinnamon is merely ground bark from this tree
What is an Arborist?
Arborists are educated in arboriculture. This is the art and science of planting, caring for and maintaining trees. These dedicated professional tree care consultants receive continuous education, instruction, and certification in the latest techniques and newest equipment. An arborist believes that the true value of a tree equals the amount of enjoyment we get from a trees beauty and has a great appreciation for it as a fellow living being.
Anatomy of a Tree
Leaves make the food for the tree. Branches hold up the leaves. Bark is the outer layer of the trunk that protects the tree from harmful insects and diseases. The inner bark carries food from the leaves to the other parts of the tree. Sapwood holds the tubes that bring water and minerals to the leaves. Heartwood is the center of the tree that is the oldest and darkest part of the tree. The Heartwood helps to hold the tree up. The roots hold the tree in the ground. There are two types of tree roots:
- Fibrous roots. This is a system of roots that spread out in the soil.
- Taproot. This is one main long root. The taproot grows straight down in the soil.
Trees are good for our health and the health of the planet. Trees have had a great influence on the shaping of the ecology of our planet and in determining the present arrangements of life on earth. Trees absorb pollution. They absorb carbon dioxide and slow down global climate change. We enjoy watching them grow over a lifetime and know that they will be here even after we’re gone. Trees are like landmarks in space and time. They offer us a sense of continuity, a connection with the past and the future. Trees have been symbols of stability, dignity, adventure, comfort and knowledge. It’s important that all of us stop and consider how many trees will be left for our children and grandchildren.
Get Involved
Make it your goal to restore and improve the health, safety, vitality and sustainability of local landscapes.
Encourage environmental awareness for nature by directly giving back to the community. Proudly participate in community service projects, neighborhood activities, special events, unique tree care projects, educational forums and historic preservation endeavors.
Early Environmentally Friendly Education
We form habits from what we’ve learned and been taught. Patterns are established early in life. Everybody has a certain way of doing things and certain conditions or situations become important to them, their family and community.
In children both the conscious and subconscious mind are very flexible. As people start to age the brain becomes more inflexible and at some point the things that exist in our mind are solidified and people become who they are to become. Once habits have formed change starts to get resisted.
This is why it’s important for this generation to be well informed of the current circumstances threatening the environment and not only their health and wellbeing but the health and wellbeing of future generations.
Setting an Example
Children are always watching and emulating their parents and adults around them. The actions of parents and teachers today will be imitated by children tomorrow.
It’s important to be aware of your every day actions and the examples you are setting. By teaching them that the environment is important to you, explaining the consequences and sharing your thoughts with them they will inherit an appreciation for and care about the same things you care about.
Teaching children about the environment is an important part of their education. Take time to plan activities, games and learning adventures that will peak their interests and impact them for the rest of their lives. There are many ways to help children be aware of the importance of their becoming eco-friendly and plenty of easy steps that can be taken to make it happen.
In Home Practices
Education starts in the home. From the very beginning make it known to children that their family is determined to meet the challenges of climate change and dedicated to helping the environment. Make sustainability, energy savings and organic common words around your home. Make the choices you want your children to make, now and in the future.
Set up recycle bins that make it easy to properly sort household waste and ensure it gets disposed of properly. Use alternative transportation like walking, biking, public transportation and car pool whenever possible. Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs. Sign the whole family up to participate for community clean up and recycling days.
School & Community
Make sure these practices continue outside the home by starting environmental awareness programs at school and in your community. Organize an Earth Day assembly program for local schools. Every class can prepare charts and informational material on the many ways their actions help save the environment.
Help your children learn to enjoy the outdoors and better understand the importance of the world around them.
Children are encouraged from a very early age to be consumers. Commercials about the latest and greatest game or toy and cartoon and movie character merchandise creates a desire to have certain items that kids at school or around the neighborhood quickly determine they must have because all the kids have them. Make toy purchases on the basis of longevity and interest as opposed to what’s hot at the moment.
Make sure kids understand that other children have needs. Suggest they organize or participate in a giveaway program. Donate outgrown clothes and toys to homeless shelters and local Salvation Army or community center.
Simplify Living
Living simply is not very popular but it is one of the best ways to impact the environment in a positive way. The less we consume, the less needs to be manufactured. This means less waste, less fossil fuels and less packaging.
Biofuel – A Renewable Energy Source
Biofuel is a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel able to be derived from recently living organisms such as plants and plant-derived materials, animals and their by-products (different from fossil fuels which are derived from biological materials that have long since died). Biofuels can be produced from any biological carbon source. For example, manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. The most common sources used for biofuel manufacturing are various photosynthetic plants.
This is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels.
Biofuels can be used to generate steam and create electricity. They can also be converted to a liquid or gas to be used in vehicles.
Biofuels are commonly used for cooking and space heating of homes as well as central heating of homes and larger facilities.
In many European countries, over 25% of heating is done with solid biofuels, including wood pellets, wood chips and straw.
Biomass is made from many types of organic matter waste, animal and vegetable, such as crop stalks, tree trimmings, wood pallets, construction waste, chicken and pig waste, agricultural waste as well as lawn and yard clippings and debris.
Using waste biomass to produce energy can reduce the use of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in addition to reducing pollution and waste management problems.
A recent publication by the European Union highlighted the potential for waste-derived bioenergy to contribute to the reduction of global warming. The report concluded that the equivalent of 19 million tons of oil will be available from biomass by 2020, 46% from bio-wastes such as municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, farm waste and other biodegradable waste streams.
Landfills generate gases, known as landfill gas (LFG), as the waste buried in them undergoes anaerobic (without air) digestion. LFG is considered a source of renewable energy, even though landfill disposal is often non-sustainable.
Landfill gas can be burned either directly for heat or to generate electricity for public consumption. Landfill gas contains approximately 50% methane which is the gas found in natural gas. Landfill gas can be easily purified and then fed into the natural gas grid. If landfill gas is not harvested, it escapes into the atmosphere which is undesirable since methane is a greenhouse gas with much more global warming potential than that of carbon dioxide. Over a time span of 100 years, one ton of methane produces the same greenhouse gas effect as 23 tons of C02.
Biochar – The machine that might save the World?
While researchers continue to work on alternative ways to recycle carbon CNN reports that the University of Georgia has a machine that may help solve environmental problems such as energy, food production and global climate change.
Biochar is highly porous charcoal that’s produced from organic waste. Raw materials can be any forest, agricultural or animal waste products like woodchips, corn husks, peanut shells or chicken droppings.
The waste or “biomass” is fed into a metal barrel where it is cooked under intense heat. Within a few hours the organic trash is transformed into charcoal-like pellets that can be used as fertilizer.
Gasses given off during the process can be harnessed to fuel vehicles or power electric generators. There may also be some pharmaceutical applications for the by-products.
Biochar’s high carbon content and porous nature helps soil retain water, nutrients, protect soil microbes and ultimately increase crop production while acting as natural carbon sink by trapping CO2 in the ground.
Biochar helps clean the air by preventing rotting biomass from releasing harmful CO2 into the atmosphere and by allowing plants to safely store CO2 pulled out of the air during photosynthesis.
According to Christoph Steiner, a leading research scientist studying biochar, soil acts as an enormous carbon pool, increasing this carbon pool could significantly contribute to the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere thus offering us a chance to produce carbon negative energy.
According to NASA scientist James Hansen, worldwide use of biochar could cut CO2 levels by 8 parts per million within 50 years.
There remain more large-scale tests that need to be performed before this biochar technology can be rolled out on a global scale.
But there are 3 billion people who are risking effects of climate change and this just may be a way for them to help solve this global problem and prosper at the same time. Industries might turn their attention to farmers around the world and start paying them for their agricultural wastes.
Tree Facts
March is the time of year when sugar maples are tapped for maple syrup. It takes 40 gallons of maple sugar sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.
The ten most forest-rich countries, which account for two-thirds of the total forested area, are the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Peru and India. (UNEP)
Primary forests are forests where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity and where ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.
Six million hectares of primary forest are lost every year due to deforestation and modification through selective logging and other human interventions.
Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way to reduce emissions.
Most deforestation is due to conversion of forests to agricultural land.
The death of one 70-year old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere.
The transportation of invasive insects & diseases through firewood is destroying trees in urban, suburban & forest areas
Shade trees can make buildings up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer.
Tree roots stabilize soil and prevent erosion.
Tree-killing insects and diseases can lurk in firewood. These insects and diseases can’t move far on their own, but when people move firewood they can jump hundreds of miles. New infestations destroy our forests, property values, and cost huge sums of money to control. (Don’t Move Firewood.org)
Fire & Our Forests
Fire is deemed an essential part of most forested ecosystems.
Fire rejuvenates forests. It recycles forest nutrients, deters unwanted harmful weeds and thins out thickets of trees.
Fire creates standing dead trees essential for woodpeckers and the insects they eat and encourages the growth of native plants. Fire was the forest management tool of choice for Native Americans for 10,000 years. Frequent burning kept wildlife and the forests they lived in healthy and sustainable.
We should try learning to live with and manage fire rather than trying to fight it since firefighting can be as destructive to the environment as the fire itself.
Fire retardant that gets dropped by bombers is toxic to fish if it reaches streams or lakes. The Clean Water Act requires the Forest Service to get a permit before it dumps fire retardant into a stream. The Endangered Species Act requires the Forest Service to evaluate the effects fire retardant in streams will have on threatened fish.
Some retardants include cyanide which is added to prevent corrosion of bomber tanks. Cyanide adds to the retardant’s toxicity. Then the bulldozers that are used to clear fire trails disturb the soil and increase erosion.
Record wildfire seasons in recent years have destroyed millions of trees in forests around the country. There are many areas that have been burned so severely that replanting is necessary.
You can help. When you give or send Seed-the-Future Tree Cards you’ll be helping to restore America’s forests, creating wildlife habitat, reducing global warming and ensuring a healthier planet.