The Earth’s thinning ozone layer is synonymous with a singing and dancing seagull named Sid — at least it is in New Zealand and Australia. “This time of year there is a huge push to ‘Slip, Slop, Slap,’” says Hamish Talbot, a native New Zealander. These publicly funded commercials implore people to “slip” on a t-shirt, “slop” on some sunscreen and “slap” on a hat. All this protection is necessary because New Zealand’s location in the Southern Hemisphere puts it very close to the “ozone hole” that forms over the South Pole at this time every year. The ozone is so thin in this part of the world that the weather report on the nightly news includes five-minute sunburn alerts. Read More
