The San Francisco Chronicle reported today that an ozone hole has
developed over the north pole. Researchers had been testing to 
determine the rate of recovery of the thinning ozone layer since
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had ben banned by international treaty
four years ago but instead they discovered unusually cold 
ozone-destroying clouds. A hole in the ozone above antarctica as
been known to exist for over ten years now but the discovery of 
one over the arctic is a surprise. People living in the regions
closest to the south pole, such as Australia and New Zealand, 
have been experiencing medical problems blamed on excessively
high levels of ultra violet rays that would normally
be filtered out by the ozone and it is feared that since many
more people live in the region surrounding the north pole 	
those people may be at risk also.
It is wonderful that we have the technology to discover this 
before any major damage is experienced. Hopefully we've learned
in time to do something to save ourselves.