The Antarctic Ozone Hole -- From Discovery to Recovery, a Scientific Jou...

Amazing how a new job makes you feel a little invigorated. That's not to say that I am totally bouncing off the walls and grinning from ear to ear. I am not by nature that energetic, although those of you who know me would beg to differ. And that statement brings me to the thought of how we think about ourselves, or more to the point how we see ourselves. I have an interesting view of the world. My oldest and dearest friend says that 'I am special' which makes me laugh each time she says that because I can never tell if she is being sarcastic or not. I do however, know what she means. You see I don't think like other people and I have yet to meet a lot of people who do think like me. I have met a few people who think like I do but they are few and far between. This difference in thinking tends to put me on the outer in social groups and with my family and can lead to a selective process when interacting in group situations or meeting new people. It is not that I don't trust people, it is more that I can get bored very quickly with trivial types of conversations and then I start to day dream which means I don't listen well then people get annoyed because they think I don't care. And they are right I probably don't really care that much. However, if you put me in the arena of social justice, human rights and environmental protection you will have my full attention. That's not to say that I don't know how to have fun, I do it is just that I have fun differently to the way in which others perceive the concept of fun.

For example, I find vocalising my thoughts on important issues fun. Yes that's right, fun. I get a buzz out of the challenge of changing someone else's thoughts about certain issues. I like the challenge of providing a different viewpoint that others can understand and grasp. It is amazing when the 'penny' drops and people start to understand a concept from a different perspective. They become aware and sometimes they become self aware. For example I have had a lot of complaints lately about how hot the sun is. Well folk's I know its a boring topic but the reality is we have a hole in the ozone layer situated over the antarctic (south pole) which is located very close to Western Australia and each year it gets hotter and hotter during the summer months in the land down under. And this year we are burning, sometimes literally. Recently a friend of mine was sitting in the passenger seat of her car with a clear plastic bottle of water between her legs. It was a hot day in Perth on this particular day, the temperature was rising towards 40 degrees. My friend said that she felt a sharp pain like a beesting on her leg. When she looked down she saw that the sun had radiated through windscreen of the car then through the plastic water bottle which conducted the heat like a magnifying glass and burnt a small hole in her jeans onto her leg. Amazing story it is and it just goes to show you that what we do to our planet really is important. On the same day another person actually complained about how hot it was even in his office. I mentioned the hole in the ozone layer and he laughed. After a few seconds he stopped laughing, had a silent moment and then said 'you're probably right'. I didn't lecture him, I just mentioned the ozone layer and in between his initial response and his discomfort in the heat he thought about it. See the point is we should stop complaining and start thinking why? Why is it so hot? And why is it getting hotter every year in WA? We should not only ask these questions we should seek the answers? For it is only then will we fully understand that our carbon footprint makes a huge impact on our world. And we need to understand how the ozone layer works. A lot of people can say ozone layer but they really don't understand what it does. And for those of you who need clarity in simplistic terms it filters the suns rays so that we don't fry, that is when it is fully functional. At the moment it is not fully functional because we put a hole in it. Global action taken in 1998 has stabilised the hole but it has not repaired the hole therefore the earth continues to heat up. You see we haven't repaired the hole we have only stopped destroying the ozone layer by stabilising the hole.

So when will we learn. Now would be a good time because I am tired of hearing people complain about how hot it is. It is our own fault because we are not heeding the advice of our environmental specialists. We are not listening. I for one think it is time to start listening and stop complaining. Lets do something positive about it. Say it with me now 'the OZONE LAYER filters out the heat of the sun's rays'. See that wasn't so hard now was it. Remember that. 

On that note I will sign off because I am hot and need to go cool off in the night air.

I found this fabulous little video that will help you understand what is happening to our environment for those of you who don't like to read.

Enjoy.

Life is good!