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Introduction Everyone will probably agree that the environment is a global value. I want to split that up into three compartments, which the world consists of in an easy model: the atmosphere, the oceans and, the earth. All three show different characteristics concerning possible mixing and residence times. The earth, or the soils, is most likely the medium with the least exchange and mixing rates and the longest residence times. It is therefore a very local concern compared to the atmosphere, which conveys their pollutants to any every place in the world and can hence affect even the most remote locations. The depletion of the ozone layer is just one but a remarkable evidence that this phenomenon occurs. Remarkable in a sense that most of the Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were produced and used in the Northern Hemisphere and the biggest hole in the ozone layer was reported over the Antarctic. This is a due to the fact that mankind is now able to create artificial products, that nature is barely able to degrade and which lead to this impact because of their long-lasting nature enabling them to react many times. Another example of remote impacts is the influence of high chimneys in a part of Germany referred to as "Ruhrgebiet", which mainly affects forests in Scandinavia because the atmospheric currents convey the sulfuric pollutants there leading to acid rain in the region. What has been done so far? In 1987, widespread recognition of the potential for damage to the ozone layer, led to an international agreement, commonly known as The Montreal Protocol, to reduce the global production of ozone depleting substances. Since then, new global observations of significant ozone depletion have prompted amendments to strengthen the treaty. The 1992 Copenhagen Amendments called for a ban on production of most damaging compounds by 1996. But the success in this area stands alone. The climate conferences in Rio de Janeiro and Kyoto have not lead to an international agreement upon carbondioxide (CO2) emissions with CO2 still being a strong economic factor in the industrialized world and a major contributor to the human caused greenhouse effect. There is no substitute for the fossil energy in sight and even a country like Germany which claims a leading role in environmental issues is not able to cut down on CO2 emissions significantly. Most of the positive effects come from closing industry in the eastern part of a Germany. The just passed bill, which will raise the tax on fossil fuels, is one of a lot of necessary steps towards a change. Comparison between the United States and Germany The major difference between the US and Germany is the people. I have the impression that Germans are more aware of environmental issues than people are in the US. This is surprising, because the education level in Environmental Engineering for example is equally high and there are efforts made to introduce waste separation and deposit systems. But the citizens are simply not interested. They prefer to throw everything and keep their motors running even when they stop for more than two minutes. An increase in gas prices could make a big difference in this case. But as driving a car seems to be an act of freedom in the US, this in not going to happen. The same holds for speed limits on German Autobahns. It seems to be a national value that no one wants to touch by introducing a speed limit. What should be done? There are three major sectors that could start a change towards a better environment: One is politics and the government; another is the industry and the market and; the third is we the people, the consumers. I consider the people or better every single person as the most important group. Only if the people understand that we have to take care of our environment, we can make a difference. We should probably start with teaching children in school more about our precious environment, try to reach people with financial means if necessary and try to make people more aware of what they have. We have taken the plenty of our planet for granted for a long time now. But we are now coming closer to a point where resources will be running out, where the population reaches a critical value and where people should learn to live with nature and the earth rather than abusing it. Globalization does not only mean to take care of other countries and continents but it also means building a sustainable earth for the future, as global for me implies not only space but also time. A sustainable future can only be reached if all the people on this planet agree on that as a common goal. |