Schools to Hold Awareness on Ozone
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer falls on September 16. As part of observing the day, Kerala State Council of Science, Technology and Environment has sanctioned funds to conduct awareness activities in schools and colleges all over the state.
Across Kerala, 137 agencies have been offered financial support, said KSCSTE Coastal and Environmental Division Joint Director Kamalakshan Kokal. The council is spending around Rs 20 lakhs, offering each institution Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, he said.
The Montreal Treaty to heal ozone has been one of the most successful environmental treaties, according to him. Ever since the Montreal Treaty on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer was signed on September 16, 1987, efforts to preserve ozone, the world over has resulted in a positive change, he said. The ozone layer is expected to recover to what it was in 1980 before 2050, according to Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion published by United Nations Environment Programme in 2014.
The result must be because of restrictions on manufacturers to use chlorofluorocarbons and halons, according to Prince P R, Assistant Professor, Physics, Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram. “ At an individual level, we can ensure that we don’t let freons in refrigerators escape into air after it is abandoned,” he says.
The college will be conducting two seminars during the week, but the topic is not limited to preserving ozone. The efforts to heal the ozone layer has inadvertently intensified global warming, as per the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion. The gases which refrigerator and spray manufacturers use now to replace ozone depleting gases, are greenhouse gases. This is where the bigger picture becomes most important. Mehboob, the coordinator at Government HSS, Pirappancode said that the school will also be conducting a poster exhibition.