Page 13

19946BH

9 Interesting Facts about the Environment More people than ever are aware that certain behaviors can be detrimental to environmental health. You may understand the basics about overflowing landfills, waste washing up on beaches or global climate change, but you may not be aware of the specifics regarding these issues and others. 1. Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours. 2. Around 25,000 trees are cut down each day just to produce toilet paper. 3. Approximately five million tons of oil produced in the world each year ends up in the ocean. 4. Seventy-eight percent of marine mammals are threatened by accidental deaths, such as getting caught in fishing nets. 5. A glass bottle can take 4,000 years to decompose. 6. Rainforests are being cut down at a rate of 100 acres per minute. 7. The United States is the No. 1 trash-producing country in the world. 8. Ford Motor Company has said that 75 percent of every vehicle is recyclable. 9. If the entire world lived like the average American, we’d need five planets to provide enough resources. Explaining the Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere Many people are familiar with the term ‘ozone layer.’ But some may not know that the Earth’s atmosphere consists of several layers. The lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere is the troposphere, which the U.S Environmental Protection Agency notes extends from the Earth’s surface to roughly six miles in altitude. The troposphere is where nearly all human activities occur. Even climbers who make it to the peak of Mt. Everest are still in the troposphere, as Everest is less than six miles high. But anyone who has ever boarded a commercial flight has likely left the troposphere and entered the stratosphere, where the majority of commercial airplanes fly. The stratosphere begins at six miles above the Earth’s surface and extends to about 31 miles above the surface of the planet. The EPA notes that most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in a layer in the stratosphere that’s roughly nine to 18 miles above the Earth’s surface. The ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere absorbs some of the sun’s radiation, including the UV and UVB radiation that has been linked to cancer. The third layer of the Earth’s atmosphere is the mesosphere, which extends from 31 miles above the Earth’s surface to roughly 53 miles above the surface of the planet. The height of the next highest layer, the thermosphere, varies due to changes in solar activity. The exosphere, which contains many of the satellites that orbit the Earth, is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. April 2017 Community Magazine 13


19946BH
To see the actual publication please follow the link above