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This story is a word-for-word account of one of Johnny Biosphere's many visits to schools all over the world.

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The Ozone Layer

The hole in the ozone layer was first discovered by members of the British Antarctic Survey and reported in the scientific journal, Nature, in 1985. At first they did not believe their own ground-based observations. Even NASA failed to confirm their findings — at first. Then scientists at NASA discovered that they had programmed their computers to remove "wild" points for which there were no obvious explanations.

When officials retrieved the data from the storage bin it became evident that the hole had been growing ever since 1978. In effect, scientists were removing evidence of ozone destruction that was taking place over their heads.

The discovery of the hole had a profound effect on children. Most children heard about the discovery accidentally as a result of channel-flicking on television. They interpreted it as a sign of game-over for humans on Earth. A student in Pennyburn Primary School in Kilwinning, Scotland, wrote this poem after Johnny Biosphere visited his school in 1987:

The Ozone Layer

Johnny Biosphere came to school
The world upon his back,
Wearing a safari suite
And carrying a ruck sack.

Telling us of the dangers
Of using aerosol sprays
Talking about the ozone layer
And the sun's harmful rays.

Spray and polish, spray and polish,
Do it very often,
Up it goes to the ozone layer
And causes it to soften.

Aerosol is a lovely word
Air and sun it means
But use it very often
And it will bring disaster it seems.