Climate, the biggest threat to the ozone layer

Research published recently said that the gas used in curing teeth - another name for nitrous oxide - is currently the biggest threat to the Earth's ozone layer.

The ozone layer, a stratospheric protective layer, helps protect plants and animals on the Earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays from the sun.

In 1987, countries around the world agreed to remove chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs), which are commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners. This is the culprit that invades the atmosphere and reduces the ozone layer thickness by 5% worldwide.

CFC emissions were quickly reduced after the ban, and by the middle of this century the ozone layer would completely recover according to information from the World Meteorological Organization.

But nitrous oxide emissions currently at 10 million tons per year can turn these efforts into nonsense.

Expanding crop production and the amount of livestock that increase can increase the amount of gas released through fertilizers and livestock waste.

'The ozone layer will not be able to continue to recover according to the process we have predicted,' according to AR Ravishankara, team leader, National Oceanic and Climate Authority officials based in Boulder, Colorado.

Cut nitrous oxide - a dual solution

With the use of an atmospheric computer model, Ravishankara and his colleagues calculated the level of nitrogen oxide impact on the ozone layer.

(Photo: Unlisted Images / Photolibrary)

The team found that the effects of nitrous oxide were as intense as many CFC compounds were banned.

Nitrogen oxide released today will have a long-term effect: 'The lifetime of nitrous oxide is about 100 years, equivalent to many CFC compounds,' Ravishankara said.

Meanwhile, CFC compounds are still found in today's atmosphere, which are continuing to destroy the ozone layer.

The World Health Organization says millions of cases of skin cancer caused by UV rays will appear in the 21st century due to the effects of CFC compounds on the ozone layer.

Moreover, nitrous oxide is also a greenhouse gas, which means it also has the ability to trap heat and promote global warming.

'That's why cutting nitrous oxide is a dual solution to climate and environmental problems,' said John Daniels, co-author of the study.

Pressure from agricultural production

Modern farming practices are the culprit of increasing artificial nitrogen oxides.

Detlef van Vuuren, officer of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, who was not involved in the study, said: nitrous oxide is also released at a lower level from sewer waste and transport.

But the world population is increasing, and life is improving, since the use of chemical fertilizers and meat consumption in the diet also increases, which contributes to increasing the amount of nitrous oxide in the gourd. ozone.

Rapid population growth also puts pressure on existing farmland, thus reducing meat consumption will make a clear difference, van Vuuren said.

'Eating less meat not only helps reduce the number of cattle,' he said, 'but also reduces the amount of fertilizer used in animal feed production.'

Researchers are also experimenting with farming methods that emit less nitrous oxide but still ensure enough feed for livestock, such as planting without plowing to prevent the release of nitrogen from the soil. gas.

Another approach is to increase the pyrolysis coal (biochar) to the soil, to fertilize the soil, thereby reducing the need for fertilizer.

'If all of the above measures are taken simultaneously, people will reduce nitrogen oxides by about 30-40% from the present,' van Vuuren said.

But 'I don't see any quick way to completely eliminate nitrous oxide in the atmosphere', he added.