Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
Ozone Layer
Discovery of the hole in the ozone layer showed that human activity has a major impact on the Earth. The damage of ozone in the stratosphere high above the planet's surface has been brought about as the result of the widespread use of chemicals, which under normal conditions are chemically inert and harmless. Ozone occurs at all levels in the atmosphere, but most of it is found in the stratosphere, between about 15-50 kilometres above the Earth's surface, where it plays a very important role. Ozone absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation which is produced by the Sun- Ultraviolet radiation can damage cells of living things — plants, animals and people. Whereas small doses result in nothing worse than sunburn, larger amounts may cause cataracts or skin cancer, and can affect the growth of plants.
I think that the ozone hole was definitely a major problem to society but the cause of the hole was our fault.