Name: Los Angeles
Status: Other
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Question:
Will life end within a year after the ozone is completely gone?
Replies:
IF the ozone layer were to completely disappear, primitive forms of life (up
to amphibians) would be unable to reproduce due to the high levels of
ultraviolet radiation. So it would be a while before all life was threatened,
maybe decades or even longer; but that is only if all the ozone were to
disappear which is not likely to happen.
Jade Hawk
No. Life on earth will not end within a year after the ozone layer is gone.
Life began on earth long before the earth even had an ozone layer. In fact,
it is because of the evolution of plants that the Earth has an oxygen
atmosphere, the outer shell of which is gradually turned into ozone by
exposure to sunlight. Plants and animals that have evolved since the
evolution of the ozone layer might be threatened with extinction if the ozone
layer is removed. Humans may be able to adjust to this new environmental
challenge with technology and behavior that avoids exposure to harmful solar
radiation.
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