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INTRODUCTION
Our atmosphere has many essential functions. It
is a reservoir of gases upon which life depends: carbon dioxide and nitrogen
for plant growth, oxygen for us to breathe, water vapor for rain that refreshes
the land. It insulates the planet against temperature extremes and filters
out harmful radiation from the sun. It even helps detoxify harmful substances
released into it, either hastening their breakdown or diluting and dispersing
them. Because living things depend so completely and in so many ways on
the atmosphere, any change in its makeup should
concern us.
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