What About the Ozone Hole?

Katharine Hayhoe, Global Weirding, Public Broadcasting Service

This video provides history on product development by General Motors and other industries that led to the release of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It explains the connection between global warming and the ozone hole, chemical build-up in our lower and upper atmospheres, the increase in GWP gases, increased air quality ozone alerts and the 1987 Montreal Protocol that banned the use of CFCs globally.

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Notes from our reviewers

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This video could be watched as a whole group or in a flipped classroom setting. This is a great introductory tool that can be used to drill down into the specific issues named in this video. It can also serve as a re-teaching or as a reinforcement tool.
This video focuses on the history of the ozone hole and the impacts of CFCs on the ozone. The video explains why we as a society started using these harmful CFCs and the policy that eventually banned CFCs globally. Provides a good, detailed explanation of how incoming solar radiation (UV rays) and CFCs are harmful to the ozone. The video explains how these chemicals build up in the lower and upper atmospheres over time, especially at the poles. Upper atmospheric ozone protects us from harmful UV rays, but a high amount of ozone in the lower atmosphere (near the ground) is actually harmful. Comments from expert scientist: Scientific strengths: Good overview of the history of CFCs and efforts to protect ozone layer
Students learn about the harmful impacts of CFCs on ozone and learn about "harmful" ozone in the lower atmosphere. Students also learn that a global policy can be enacted to solve a worldwide environmental issue which could set up a good class discussion or debate related to climate change policies. A considerable amount of scientific/chemistry terms and concepts are used throughout this video. Therefore, students should have some knowledge of solar radiation (energy budget), UV radiation, ozone (upper and lower atmosphere), and about some chemistry (ex. CFCs). No teacher or student instructional support provided.