The destruction of the precariously balanced ecosystems that make our world thrive is nothing new to human history. Since the origins of Civilization mankind has beaten back the wilderness to make way for expansion. Sometimes the natural environment is badly damaged in the process. It is only in recent times, however, that man has achieved the technology to destroy life on a global scale. Vast dead areas where not even the simplest life-forms can survive are a result of damage to the ozone layer that protects the planet from the harshest solar radiation. As the ozone layer is dissolved by chemical pollution, scorching UV radiation burns through to destroy all vegetation in particular locations, leaving only lifeless rock behind.