The ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk 30 percent as compared to last year's record size, according to the European Space Agency.
Ozone is a protective layer found about 25 km above us mostly in the stratospheric stratum of the atmosphere that acts as a sunlight filter shielding life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Over the last decade the ozone layer has thinned by about 0.3% per year on a global scale, increasing the risk of skin cancer, cataracts and harm to marine life.
The thinning of the ozone is caused by the presence of ozone destructing gases
in the atmosphere such as chlorine and bromine, originating from man-made
products like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which have still not vanished from the
air but are on the decline as they are banned under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
If we were not so reluctant to let go of certain convenient, but very harmful
substances in production processes and consumption patterns, we might see that
if we work with the Earth instead of against her, she is actually capable of
healing herself!
