Whats the difference between the enhanced greenhouse effect and ozone depletion?
Ozone depletion is a different environmental problem from the enhanced greenhouse effect. However, ozone depletion is also caused by changes to the atmosphere caused by humans. Ozone depletion has been happening since the late 1970s. It is caused by CFCs and halons, industrially produced chemicals used in the past for refrigeration, plastic making and fire fighting. Once in the atmosphere, these chemicals destroy ozone in the stratosphere, 20 to 30 kilometres above the ground. This is the ozone layer, which stops much of the suns harmful ultraviolet radiation reaching us. Damage to the ozone layer means that over much of the planet, more ultraviolet radiation reaches the ground than in the past. Both the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion are due to chemicals released into the air by peoples activities. Another similarity is that CFCs are ozone destroyers and greenhouse gases. In a curious turn of events, the warming effect of CFCs is offset by the fact that they destroy ozone, also
