DEAR EDITOR
Is the world taking heed to the ozone layer depreciation or not? What is the ozone hole?
Is there any sign that, the climate change is upon us? What is/ are the causes of climate change? T
he above questions can be correctly answered by a grade five pupil. They are easy to answer but hard to implement.
Firstly the ozone layer is a layer in the stratosphere ( at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ozone hole is an area of the ozone layer that is seasonally depleted of ozone.
Clear signs that the effect of the ozone layer are upon us are, very hot days, cyclones, and intermittent rainfall patterns. Cyclone is a violent rotating windstorm, usually followed by floods, for example cyclone ldai and the recent cyclone Freddy. The damage caused by these two destructive cyclones in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi will traumatize citizens of these countries for a very long time to come.
Sometimes the days are extremely hot, and these cause wildfires in some areas. For example in Hwange, you hear of serious burns on children playing in the veld. These are signs that the ozone layer is depreciating at a rate, humans cannot fix. And fossil fuels are said to be the major causes of it. The industrialized world and their poor cousins in the third world sit at their COP meetings, they always promise to cut these emissions from coal, gas and oil. The third world countries are the ones who are bearing the brunt of the effects of the ozone layer depletion caused by the industrialized world.
These days in Zimbabwe and South Africa as case studies are experiencing energy problems. Generators are running 24/7 in most urban areas. These generators also contribute a lot to ozone layer depletion.
So as l walked in Masvingo town on 27 March 2023, l asked myself, is it not cheaper to install solar panels on most urban buildings? A 330watt or mono solar panel costs around US$120.00, 30amp regulator US$20.00, and 100 Ah gel battery around $ 200 US. This will enable a shop to have enough lights to illuminate our showrooms and run some few electrical gadgets. And by doing so we will be going green and save our planet. It’s not too late, let’s save our earth.
Aaron Gono
Chikwanda Tribal Trust Land
Gutu
