Environmental Research Foundation . . P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403 . .
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To subscribe, E-mail the words . . The ozone hole over the south pole this past winter grew to be four times as large as the United States, the biggest it has ever been. Since 1970, the south-pole ozone hole has opened up each year between August and December, then closed up again as sunlight created a new supply of ozone, leaving Earth's entire ozone supply slightly more diminished each passing year. These smaller molecules remain in the stratosphere, nine to 18 miles above the earth, until they encounter frozen clouds. Frozen clouds break down the small molecules further, releasing pure chlorine and bromine which then begin to devour nearby ozone molecules that ordinarily protect Earth from deadly ultraviolet radiation, which is constantly streaming in from the sun.