Global Warming
During the last 50 years, two environmental issues have received significant attention—global warming and the hole in the ozone layer. As scientists have investigated these two environmental phenomena, some have made some effort to show that these two effects are somehow related.

The rate at which global warming is occurring is a controversial subject among scientists. Because scientists have been studying the earth’s weather patterns for only the last century or two, it is difficult to make an accurate comparison of the recent weather data to the overall weather patterns of a planet that has existed for millions of years. Consequently, it is hard to know whether rising temperatures are a cyclical phenomenon or a trend that could have devastating effects on our planet.

Very simply, global warming may be thought of as excess heat being trapped near the surface of the earth. Think about how hot a car becomes while parked in the sun on a summer day. The inside of the car is hotter than the surrounding air because the glass of the windshield allows the electromagnetic waves from the sun to pass into the car but does not allow the resultant heat to pass back out.

In a similar manner, the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) produces a layer of gases (commonly referred to as the greenhouse gases) that acts like the windshield of a car. This layer of gases allows the electromagnetic waves from the sun to pass through but does not allow the heat from the planet to pass back out into space. Many scientists argue that a prolonged buildup of heat could lead to the melting of the polar ice caps, raised oceanic levels, extensive flooding, and disastrous consequences to life.

The Hole in the Ozone
As we breathe, we take in a mixture of gases that includes life-sustaining oxygen. Actually, the oxygen molecule that our body uses is formed of