The alien lurking in the globe?
Wait a few seconds, please, for the alien to show up....if a rather
striking image of the split ozone hole on 24 Sept. 2002 does not
appear (because your browser does not process animated gif images)
click this link. The atmospheric
science of the ozone hole is of great significance - the first
unequivocally clear evidence of global-scale and detrimental
alteration of the planetary environment by us, and the first more-or-less
successful international agreement to stop doing the thing
that causes the damage, despite it being profitable to some.
Now, how about the imminent peak and
subsequent decline in global oil production (only a few years
away, if not here now);
atmospheric
CO2 increase from fossil fuel burning, global warming, and the consequences:
sea-level
rise, desertification,
ocean
acidification, among others;
and catastrophically rapid destruction
of the remaining natural environment, and runaway
extinction of plant and
animal species,.......?
To understand the historical and physical context of these issues,
and why they are the most important things all of us on this planet
face now, and in the nearest future, you need to know something
about the geological sciences, in particular the history of life
from the fossil record, and the origins and finite extent of
hydrocarbon energy resources, and that they are non-renewable except
on a time scale of millions of years. Why is this subject no longer
being offered at the University at Albany? Good question - do ask
the reponsible Albany
administrator exactly that........
Click on the image or this
link to go to the NASA Goddard page [saved by archive.org]
explaining the ozone hole and the image.
Geological Sciences index page