The alien lurking in the globe?
The alien eyes of the ozone hole on 24 September 2002. 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 explaining the ozone hole and
the
image.
Geological
Sciences index page