HOW MUCH SPRING SUNSHINE WILL YOU GET? 
NEW SOFTWARE MONITORS ULTRAVIOLET (UV) EXPOSURE

With the stratospheric ozone shield becoming thinner, the sun's ultraviolet
(UV) rays are now stronger. UV B-WARE is a computer program that delivers
specific UV and sunburn predictions for individuals, tailored to their
lifestyle, location, and schedule of outdoor activities, based on actual
NASA satellite ozone measurements. The newly released PC-compatible
package was developed by Save the Planet Software, a Colorado company
specializing in environmental software.

Designed for people with an active outdoor lifestyle or families with young
children who spend a lot of time in the sun, UV B-WARE is a database and
calculator that makes specific forecasts of UV levels and sunburn times,
for specific locations, times of the year, and time of the day. Detailed
seasonal ozone trends, calculated from 13 years of Nimbus-7 ozone data,
for over 525 locations (including 350 cities in the US and Canada), are
used to make the projections.

"The program calculates UV intensity levels and displays the results on an
easy-to-understand scale of 1 to 10~, explains Roger Cox, who with his
wife, Kathy, wrote the software package. Sunburn times are calculated as
the number of minutes exposure to produce the first reddening of untanned
Caucasian skin. The program also contains a valuable reference section
entitled, "Personal UV Protection", containing over 40 ideas, UV
protection products for your eyes and skin, and suggestions for protecting
your family from the health hazards of overexposure to UV radiation.
Health risks besides sunburn include: skin cancers, eye cataracts, and
immune system damage. Kathy continues, UV B-WARE calculates the intensity
of the UVB (Ultraviolet-B type) spectrum of radiation that occurs between
the wavelengths of 280 and 320 nanometers. This band of UV is particularly
damaging to human cells, causing DNA damage, leading to skin cancers or
eventual blindness if eye cataracts are not treated. As UVB levels
increase, it is especially important to make sure that children are well
protected and avoid bad sunburns. Many cases of fatal melanoma cancer are
thought to be triggered by bad childhood or teenage sunburns."

UV B-WARE software will calculate a variety of additional solar and UV
exposure information:

* The time each day the sun is the strongest (solar noon), 
  for a given location
* Hourly UVB intensity graph display
* Total UVB dosage for any day at any location, any time 
  of the year
* Hours of sunshine for any day of the year, with sunrise/sunset
  times given in local time
* Percentage of increase (or decrease) in UVB levels for any date
  and location, relative to 1980 levels
* Predicted ozone, UVB, and sunburn levels for any future date 
  to the year 2010
* Personalized total annual UV dosage for any year, based on 
  an individual's lifestyle and location profile, as supplied 
  by the user.

"Our goal with the UV B-WARE program was to take the vast amount of global
ozone data NASA has collected and develop a useful subset as a personal
database so individuals can quickly estimate the increased UV exposure
risks they will encounter in their hometown and at locations where they
spend vacation time. Because of recent ozone depletion, UV levels are
generally higher in the spring months over large portions of North
America," concludes Roger. "It is easier to get a sunburn now than it was
10 or 15 years ago".

The UV B-WARE software package runs on any MS-DOS computer with 512K RAM
and a hard disk drive, and is priced at $39.95

Save the Planet Software, P.O. Box 45, Pitkin, CO 81241
(303) 641-5035

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