TABLE OF CONTENTS | Note | Scientists don't all agree about many questions on the environment. But you don't have to be a green to admit that there has been a significant change in public awareness of these issues. |
Since the 1980s there has been ever-increasing concern about the effect of human activities on the environment. There are two main environmental issues.
The Earth and its atmosphere do not have an unlimited capacity to cope with the many forms of pollution associated with industrialization.
The Earth does not have unlimited resources for the world's population to exploit and destroy.
Industrial pollution has been a problem in Britain since the 19th century. The terrible smogs that engulfed London in 1952, killing hundreds, showed just how much damage could be done by pollution. In this case the pollution was caused by smoke from burning coal.
It's now known that one of the effects of atmospheric pollution is the depletion of the ozone layer. This layer of ozone filters the sun's rays, and protects us from over-exposure to the ultra-violet radiation. If the layer were to disappear completely we would all be dead. Its loss is blamed on substances produced by industrial processes. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), traditionally used in refrigerators and aerosols, have been identified as being partly to blame. It has been proved that CFCs react in the atmosphere with ultra-violet radiation to form chlorine. This results in the ozone being converted to oxygen. Governments and manufacturers have been forced to...
