Lessons from the Healing of the Ozone Layer: Is Zero-Waste Lifestyle Really Effective in Handling Environmental Issues?

Lessons from the Healing of the Ozone Layer Is Zero-Waste Lifestyle Really Effective in Handling Environmental Issue?

by Nasya Ayudianti Ramadhani

The ozone layer is a protective layer made up of a high concentration of ozone located in the Earth’s stratosphere. The ozone layer has the important function of absorbing 9399% of ultraviolet light produced by the sun which is damaging to life on Earth. Despite the protective nature of the layer, the layer is quite fragile. In 1985, scientists found that high exposures of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) have damaged the layer, creating a rupture, and predicted that the layer will be completely depleted by 2050. Depletion of the ozone layer would cause ultraviolet radiation to directly impact Earth and pose multiple problems from higher exposure to skin cancer to climate change.

To combat the depletion of the ozone layer, concrete actions were done which centered around public awareness, practical solutions, and cooperation of leaders around the world to implement laws suppressing CFCs and other chemicals posing threat to the ozone layer. The most significant of those laws is the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The protocol is a multilateral environmental agreement signed by 198 United Nations Member States which regulates the ozone-depleting substances (ODS). Essentially, the protocol functions to globally reduce the usage of ODS substances using collaborative measures and split. responsibilities on the basis of of equity. Fortunate to such actions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found that there is a 20% depletion of the ozone layer from 1985 to 2005. With such a rate, it is predicted that the layer might fully recover by 2050-2060.

Despite the healing of the ozone layer, environmental issues continue to occur. Pollution, microplastics, deforestation, and threat to biodiversity are just some of the environmental issues happening in recent years. Due to these occurrences, many people are more aware of the importance of sustainable living and a zero-waste lifestyle. Instead of plastic bags and straws, restaurants, as well as individuals, are using reusable straws made from various materials including metals and wood, bringing their own tumblers, and tote bags instead of single-use plastic bags. In many places, these zero-waste lifestyles are not an option more than they are compulsory. However, considering the significance of the environmental issues and the small time frame we have to recover them, the effectiveness of zero-waste lifestyles becomes a question of its own.

Learning from the efforts to heal the ozone layer, holistic participation must be taken to solve an environmental issue. In order to tackle the root cause of it, consumer-focused efforts need to also be balanced with producer-focused measures. Oftentimes, the focus on zero-waste lifestyles and its advocation puts pressure on individuals to adapt without balancing pressure from the government to producers in finding alternatives to plastic bags and other non-degradable materials. Without regulations to push the producers, the effort to reduce single-use items will not be as effective as it aims to be. In recent years, natural-based inventions such as biodegradable plastic bags made from cassava, banana leave plates, and bamboo straws have gradually been used to replace their non-degradable counterparts. If such efforts continue followed by balanced measures from the producer, the effectiveness of sustainable and zero-waste lifestyles in handling environmental issues might increase.

Overall, every member of society must take part in handling environmental issues. At the end of the day, caring for the planet is not only an obligation for the life of today but for the future. Aside from adapting to zero-waste lifestyles, it is also important to acknowledge the role of law in creating regulations to serve as a legal basis for such zero-waste lifestyles and furthermore, the structural handling of environmental issues. Hopefully, world leaders manage to implement the substance of the Paris Agreement and carry a scientific approach to policies surrounding environmental issues.

References:

1- Sivasakthivel.T and K.K.Siva Kumar Reddy,

“Ozone Layer Depletion and Its Effects: A Review” , International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol.2, No.1, February 2011

2- Bitesize,

“Why don’t we talk about the ozone layer anymore?” , retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrcw47h