Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action to show documentary about ozone layer

Aug 15, 2019

From staff reports

editoral@newsandsentinel.com

PARKERSBURG — A local group dedicated to educating people about the environment and climate change will present the PBS documentary “Ozone Hole: How We Saved the Planet” at 7 p.m. today at First Christian Church, 1400 Washington Ave.

The documentary will be presented during the regular Third Thursday meeting of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action. An open discussion session will follow.

Third Thursday programs are open to the public and free of charge.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The international treaty protects the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

“I think we can learn something about working together to avert a potentially catastrophic planetary environmental issue and apply those lessons to the climate crisis we are facing now,” said Dennis Kennedy of Climate Action and a PBS member. “In the 1980s, the planet was in grave danger, not from global warming but from a giant hole in the ozone layer, an atmospheric layer that absorbs most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light.”

According to the documentary, scientists have determined the cause was seemingly benign CFCs, industrial chemicals used in every-day products from hairspray to deodorant. Ozone filters ultraviolet radiation and its depletion threatens agriculture and ecosystems.

Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action is affiliated with 350.org and Citizens’ Climate Lobby and is a Science Booster Club for the National Center for Science Education. The not-for-profit volunteer group also collaborates with other environmental groups on campaigns and events in the Mid-Ohio Valley.