The Ozone Vanishes And not just over the South Pole

A hole in earth's protective shield could soon open above Russia, Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, Canada and northern New England.

What does it mean to redefine one's relationship to the sky? What will it do to our children's outlook on life if we have to teach them to be afraid to look up?

-- Senator Al Gore, Earth in the Balance

The world now knows that danger is shining through the sky. The evidence is overwhelming that the earth's stratospheric ozone layer -- our shield against the sun's hazardous ultraviolet rays -- is being eaten away by man-made chemicals far faster than any scientist had predicted. No longer is the threat just to our future; the threat is here and now....

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