Atmospheric Change and Air Quality
3 Atmospheric Change and Air Quality e
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“Given the uncertainty associated with the effects of atmosphericchange, should decision-makers act now or wait for more information? Global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer are essentially irreversible processes. If we wait to see the proof of these phenomena, the costs of dealing with changes in agriculture, forestry, and weather patterns will be muchgreater than if we act now to start reducing the likelihood of these events occurring.” City ofVancouver 1990 / L
There are three key areas of atmospheric change that concern local governments: local air quality, ozone layer depletion, and potential climate change (e.g., global warming). Local air quality obviously varies according to local conditions, but shares causes and solutions with broader atmosphericchangeissues. Ozonelayerdepletion and climate change are discussed below. Many scientists believe that the context for thinking about sustainable development for thenext several decades will be global atmospheric change. Put simply, we are changing the composition of the earth’s atmosphere. If the change continues at currentrates, the world’s weather may be significantly altered by the middle of the next century. Climate Change Globalwarmingisonepossibleconsequenceofatmospheric change. In essence, we might be giving the planet a fever by increasing the Earth’s natural “greenhouse effect.” We