My name is Tanya Arora, a middle school student at Singapore American School. I am writing to you because I am incredibly inspired by the work you are doing in encouraging young activists to restore the ozone layer, and I hope that you can include my argument essay on your website to inspire numerous other young activists. I became interested in ozone depletion after learning about the detrimental consequences of this subject and I would love to use my voice to educate future generations about this topic and convince them to make changes in their daily lives to be a part of the ozone restoring mission. I deeply appreciate that you are taking the time to read this letter.

“Life couldn't exist without this protective ozone,” stated the National Environmental Education Foundation in their article ‘The Scoop on Stratospheric Ozone’. This statement can only capture a fraction of the importance of our ozone layer. The ozone layer is constantly protecting our planet, allowing us to breathe, eat, drink, and live in peace. The ozone layer is our planet's miracle. Yet even though this is true, humans are tearing up our precious ozone, piece by piece for dollar bills. The ozone layer serves as a protective shield to our planet by blocking 99% of ultraviolet radiation, menacing radiation that can harm human wellbeing, ecosystems', and the economy by using its protective molecules, along with helping to filter the sun's radiation to help make sure that we only get the sun rays that provide us with the right nutrients. Unfortunately, our planet struggles through the intense issue of ozone depletion which is caused by certain ozone-unfriendly human activities and natural fluctuations of ozone in the atmosphere which results in this protective shield forming a hole that allows ultraviolet radiation to seep through. Previously, our planet made changes such as the Montreal Protocol, a successful international treaty hailed by scientists designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion, and currently, our planet is on the right track to healing the ozone layer, regardless, if the future generations do not become aware of or change their daily lives with the ambition to restore the ozone, negative consequences await. Ozone layer depletion is detrimental due to the negative consequence it has on human well-being, ecosystems, and the economy, however, our planet is starting to make changes, and with the right measures, the ozone layer can be restored.

Ozone Depletion Has Negative Consequences on Human Wellbeing

The ozone layer that keeps you safe every waking second is depleting and the consequences are absolutely severe to your wellbeing. As a matter of fact, the Gale Cengage Company in their article ‘Ozone Layer Depletion’ claims that “ultraviolet can cause sunburn, blindness, and cancer in large amounts.” We have been gifted with our precious ozone and if we continue to destroy it the effects will spiral back into our own wellbeing with numerous treacherous effects. Although humanity worked together during the Montreal Protocol, our planet needs the support of our future generations to not only be aware of this topic yet also begin making small changes in their own daily lives now and in the future to help restore the ozone layer. Personally, when my eye is even slightly damaged the pain feels deadly, yet imagine the people who have to live through lifelong eye damage due to ozone depletion. The well-being of numerous people is certainly not worth dollar bills or the ability to remain in a lifestyle that may be comfortable to you while it harms others. Humans fell off track in ozone restoring terms before, and if we do not maintain a restoring ozone layer, the deleterious effects could eventually spiral back into our own wellbeing. Ultimately, the ozone layer is depleting and the consequences are utterly severe.

Restoring our ozone layer has both toxic effects on the human body, and affects a considerable number of people. As well as this, the World Health Organization in their article Radiation: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and skin cancer estimated that a 10 percent decrease in ozone levels can result in an additional 300,000 non-melanoma and 4,500 melanoma skin cancer cases. Ozone depletion are two small words that can destroy the well-being of many. This data shows just how many people are intensely struggling with the depletion of our planet. If just 10% of a decrease in ozone levels can result in 304,500 people being in sustainable health, about 3,045,000 people's well-being can get damaged due to ozone depletion. This is equivalent to the students in an estimated 152250 classrooms. As children are the future generations, it is important to continue restoring rather than depleting the ozone layer further since the actions you make can have a considerable impact on countless people worldwide. Take action now in addition to the future to restore our precious ozone layer to save not only your life but the lives of the numerous people living throughout our planet. Thus, restoring our ozone layer has both toxic effects on the human body and affects a considerable amount of people.

Restoring our ozone layer can be exceptionally advantageous to both your life and the life of numerous other individuals' wellbeing. As reported by the United Nations Environment Programme in their Ozone and You website, “studies have proven that uncontrolled ozone depletion would have substantially increased the risk of skin cancers worldwide”. If individuals took the time to make daily changes in their lives, the amount of support it will do on numerous people is phenomenal. Making small changes in our daily lives can certainly help a substantial amount of people from suffering from skin cancer. You have the power to make the right choices now and in the future to help restore our precious ozone. Imagine all the people in this world suffering from skin cancer because of ozone depletion. By being part of the ozone restoring mission you can know that the efforts you are making are beneficial worldwide. Without a doubt, restoring our ozone layer can certainly be exceptionally beneficial to both your life and the life of numerous other individuals wellbeing. Needless to say, ozone depletion leads to numerous consequences on human wellbeing. Regardless, our planet has made numerous efforts to help restore our planet, yet individuals still need to consistently make changes since ozone depletion can additionally result in negative consequences on ecosystems and the economy.

Ozone Depletion Has Negative Consequences on Ecosystems

Ozone depletion not only has negative effects on human wellbeing but also can harm ecosystems. For instance, BrainPOP in their video ‘Ozone Layer’ states that “too much UV radiation is harmful to plants and animals, upsetting the balance of the food chain.” It is well known that UV radiation can damage human wellbeing in numerous ways concerning cancer, the eye, and the immune system, regardless, large amounts of this radiation correspondingly results in unfavorable consequences for various other distinguishable aspects of society. The consequences of ozone depletion can be toxic to plants in addition to animals, and leave the entire food chain unbalanced which can tear apart entire ecosystems. Consequently, ozone layer depletion is deadly due to the negative consequences it has on ecosystems. However, you have the power to change these baneful effects on ecosystems' wellbeing by making the right choices. Without a doubt, ozone depletion not only has negative effects on human wellbeing but also can harm ecosystems.

Ozone depletion can cause highly significant damage to the well-being of numerous animals which can eventually spiral into an unbalanced food chain. To further explain, the Copernicus Programme in their article ‘It's not black and white: the effect of UV radiation on penguins’ provided an example of this saying “as most of a penguin’s body is covered in feathers, it is not likely that penguins suffer from skin diseases due to enhanced UV exposure. Their eyes, however, like human eyes, are susceptible to damage by exposure to UV light and as penguins rely on their sight for catching krill and fish, this could be a huge problem.” Imagine the struggle animals under the ozone hole face each day of their life. Penguins have to sacrifice their basic privilege of food entirely for the greed of ozone-depleting businesses. Ozone depletion can risk the survival of millions of organisms. Entire food chains can be broken, leading to the damage of entire ecosystems. To me, the amount of despair certain organisms face due to our selfish acts is a driver for me to make a change in my lifestyle. As children, it is necessary to be aware of the consequences of ozone depletion and not be blind to the fact that if we loosen our grip on the ozone restoring mission, the livelihood of a food chain will be damaged. Thereby, ozone depletion can cause highly significant damage to the well-being of numerous animals which can eventually spiral into an unbalanced food chain.

Ozone depletion can not only damage the well-being of ecosystems above land but also is catastrophic to the well-being of marine life. On top of that, in the article ‘Damage to the ozone layer and climate change forming feedback loop: New report finds that impacts of ozone-driven climate change span the ecosystem -- ScienceDaily” Kevin Rose, a researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who serves on the panel, stated "What we're seeing is that ozone changes have shifted temperature and precipitation patterns in the southern hemisphere, and that's altering where the algae in the ocean are, which is altering where the fish are, and where the walruses and seals are, so we're seeing many changes in the food web," As temperature and precipitation patterns shift in the southern hemisphere, a loophole may arise on animal habitat challenges, therefore, changes may arrive in the food web. Disruption in food webs also suggests that ecosystems are getting disrupted which can be a factor in the extinction of entire species. If minor changes can spiral into negative consequences such as the extinction of entire species, it is crucial that individuals need to make changes in their daily lives. Therefore, ozone layer depletion is deadly due to the negative consequence it has on ecosystems.

Without a doubt, the consequences ozone depletion has on our planet's ecosystems and human wellbeing is ruinous. Additionally, adverse environmental impact ultimately leads to direct and indirect economic consequences in the economy. Despite that, do not lose hope because our planet is making numerous changes, and if children around the world understand and take action on this subject matter we can restore the ozone layer.

Ozone Depletion Has Negative Consequences On Our Economy

Ozone depletion can not only be damaging to the well-being of humanity and ecosystems, but also can have a severe impact on you, your family, and the global economic well-being. For instance, in accordance with the article ‘Protection of the ozone layer,’ The European Commission stated that “Increased health costs is the most important direct economic impact of increased UV radiation. The medical expenses for millions of additional cases of skin cancers and eye cataracts pose a challenge to health care systems, particularly in less developed countries.” This statement captures just how ozone depletion can spiral into numerous other consequences such as increased health costs posing a challenge to health care systems. Thereby, we are not only damaging the well-being of humans, but this challenge is having negative consequences for our economy. If you take action on restoring the ozone layer, you can help retreat the loopholes of negative consequences and allow our planet to be a much safer place for our economy as well. Nonetheless, ozone depletion can not only be damaging to the well-being of humanity and ecosystems, but also can have a severe impact on you, your family, and the global economic well-being

The cost of replacing ozone-depleting technologies can become a huge burden on the entire nation, therefore it is important to only develop technologies that are not ozone-depleting. For instance, as stated by the article ‘Grappling With the Cost Of Saving Earth's Ozone - The New York Times (nytimes.com)’ “No estimate of the global cost of replacing CFC-based technology has been made, but the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the cost in the United States alone would be some $3 billion, mostly for replacing equipment made obsolete or unusable by the ban.” Certain studies have indicated the cost of replacing the ozone is billions merely for CFC, an ozone-depleting substance made out of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. The cost can be especially difficult for developing nations and there needs to be further investigation on the economic impact globally. This can pose economic difficulty to numerous nations. If humans had not introduced CFC in the first place, this large sum of money could be used for a number of considerable causes. The following information can be used as a lesson to many on how the actions we make have consequences which in the case of ozone depletion we need to be aware of. Therefore, the economic impact of ozone depletion has a negative consequence on ozone depletion.

Ozone depletion not only removes the ozone shield but also can allow harmful ozone to arise which spirals into certain economic losses. To further explain, corresponding to the Journal of Environmental Management in their article ‘The economic effects of stratospheric ozone depletion on U.S. agriculture: a preliminary assessment - ScienceDirect evaluated the “economic effects of potential changes in crop yields due to hypothetical depletions in stratospheric ozone over regions of the U.S.A,” and stated, “results suggest that increases in tropospheric ozone due to a 15 percent stratospheric ozone depletion may cause economic losses of around 0-9 billion dollars.” Recent studies are showing that the depletion of ‘beneficial ozone’ can increase tropospheric ozone which can pose a challenge to people working in agriculture by reducing plant productivity and agricultural crops. This yields to a major issue due to the amount of struggle it poses onto these workers by giving them the struggle to provide for their families. People are struggling to provide for their families for certain selfish acts. You need to make a change in your daily life to help workers simply provide for their families. Hence, ozone depletion not only removes the ozone shield but also can allow harmful ozone to arise which spirals into certain economic losses.

Ozone depletion is abominable for human wellbeing, ecosystems, and the economy, and it is crucial that we reduce ozone-depleting substances, however, certain people have an opposing view. One might object that reducing the amount of ozone-depleting substances may bring economic instability to individuals because multiple companies rely on ozone-depleting substances for quality products. Notwithstanding this statement is true, there are numerous different ozone-friendly substances such as R441a. For instance, the article ‘Hydrocarbon refrigerant R441a gets first roll out in the USA,’ stated, “as an added benefit, R441a has zero global warming potential and is non-ozone depleting.” Consequently, finding ozone-friendly substances is crucial to help maintain economic stability in families and help prevent certain negative consequences of ozone depletion. There are numerous substances that can be used as both sustainable and high-quality ingredients. As children, it is essential that you remember this information throughout your life and speak to different companies about using more ozone-sustainable substances.

The major takeaways are that ozone depletion can have damaging effects on human wellbeing, ecosystems, and economic stability, regardless, our planet is starting to transform in the terms of ozone depletion, and with certain precautions, we can restore the ozone layer. Hopefully, you realize that the ozone layer is a protective shield miracle to our planet which simply cannot be traded off for dollar bills. You should play your part in protecting the ozone layer by avoiding the consumption of Ozone-Depleting Substances, minimizing the use of cars, not using harmful cleaning products, buying local products, maintaining air-conditioners, and making sure that the companies you support are EPA-certified. As children, you are the future, encourage others to be a part of the ozone restoring mission, and endeavor to incorporate these changes throughout your life.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”