4 — Wednesday, November 1, 1989 -

North Shore News

© strictly personal e

THE OZONE hole over the Antarctic has become a sym- bol, a metaphor and a symptom of the state of our planet as we approach the end of the 20th century.

{f the ozone shield, which sur- th like a bubble, yond a certain

point, biological life, at least on ae surface, will become impossi- ie. The world will be rendered as ‘feless as the moon.

There is no single threat to our ..istence that is more awesome.

‘ ven a nuctear war would presum- bly leave some vestiges of life -Aich could evolve, over time, into

w forms, once the radiation nvels subsided sufficiently.

The problem with a collapse of the ozone shield is that we would

xposed to the pitiless ultravio- et radiation of the sun — forever.

Given the overwhelming im- plications, | find it utterly astonishing that the media — and all but a handful of our politicians — carry on as though the issue is so minor that it barely warrants the back pages, let alone any decisive action.

The obsession in Canada re- mains with such arcane issues as Meech Lake and the GST, which ultimately matter not a whit com- pared with our fates if the ozone layer goes. There won't BE any societies, let alone distinct ones. And who will be around to pay or collect taxes?

Some months ago I learned from Dr. Wayne Evans, the chief scien- tist for Environment Canada, that the amount of ozone in the strato-

fade | in italy.

sphere over the Northern Hemi- sphere has decreased by four per cent in the last 1 $

For every decrease of one per cent in the ozone layer, there is a two per cent increase in the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface of the world, Dr. Evans suid.

the increased number of cases of skin cancer.

AML this statistical uncertainty aside, the fact remains that the ozone layer has thinned and more ultraviolet radiation is coming down on us than ever. Long-term consequences, probably catastrophic, are unavoidable.

tt has already been established that increased solar radiation through the ozone hole at the Ant- arctic is inhibiting rhe growth of

The obsession in Canada remains with such arcane issues as Meech Lake and the GST, which ultimately matter not a whit compared with our fates if the ozone layer

goes.”’

1 also learned from a spokesman for tne Canadian Cancer Society that there is an ‘undeclared epidemic’”’ of skin cancer in Canada.

She added that is was impossi- ble, as yet, to determine exactly how much of this was due to the increase in ultraviolet radiation because of the changes in lifestyle that have occurred in the last gen- eration.

That is, people go south in droves on holidays and expose themselves to the sun more so than ever. The bikini is likely to have been the greatest single factor in

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microscopic phytoplankton, which is the main food of krill, which is the main food of squid, fish and whales. In turn, penguins, seals and winged birds depend on the animals that subsist on the plankton-eaters.

At the time I talked to him, Dr. Evans tipped me off that scientists would be monitoring the ozone hole this September and October with special care, because what happens to it this year was going to tell us an awful lot about what the future holds.

In 1988, he explained, the hole had actually shrunk — not in

terms of the over-all area it expas- ed to additional radiation, but in terms of how thin the hayer became at the peak of the season during

between 15 and 60 kilometres above the ground. Its molecules are so widely scattered, however, ss only amounts to three best. During the chinning perio diminishes to less than one and a half millimetres,

In 1988, it only thinned to some two millimetres. Scientists were hoping that this was a delayed response to the dramatic cut-back in aerosol sprays that occurred in the mid °70’s. Hf the hole were to continue to shrink in 1989, it meant that it was not only stabiliz- ing but healing.

Thus the careful scrutiny last month as the hole began to dev el- op over the Antare! been doing annually since the late "70's.

The data frm NASA satellites and dozens of land- based monitor-

i visited ‘Dr. Evans a few days ago to look at the computer images generated by all these systems and to hear the verdict on the state of the ozone hole.

Dr. Evans had to shake his head.

“The hole is as big and deep as ever,”’ he reported glumly. ‘‘There is no evidence of it stabilizing or shrinking. It’s going to be with us for a long, long time.”

Reaching its peak in mid- September, the hole grew so big that it touched the tip of South America and swung perilously close to New Zealand.

So the news is very bad indeed, and I can understand people wan- ting to duck their heads in the sand. What I cannot understand is the complete failure of the media to report these facts.

You read it here first@

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