Recently, I was reading a story from the June 9, 1986 issue of The New Yorker about the scientists who discovered that the chemical compounds used in air conditioning, refrigeration, and aerosol sprays were depleting the stratospheric ozone layer, which, they said, could cause widespread skin cancer, crop damage, shifting weather patterns, a warmer atmosphere and planet. The story (at great length!) describes the discovery, and the various research-related backs-and-forths, including the hole in the ozone over Antarctica. It gets into how the scientists demurred on presenting solutions, how research was presented and manipulated by industry, which stalled and sowed doubt about the science. On the one hand, they made a lot of money from manufacturing and selling these chemicals. On the other hand, life on earth!
News from a Changing Planet -- #16
News from a Changing Planet -- #16
News from a Changing Planet -- #16
Recently, I was reading a story from the June 9, 1986 issue of The New Yorker about the scientists who discovered that the chemical compounds used in air conditioning, refrigeration, and aerosol sprays were depleting the stratospheric ozone layer, which, they said, could cause widespread skin cancer, crop damage, shifting weather patterns, a warmer atmosphere and planet. The story (at great length!) describes the discovery, and the various research-related backs-and-forths, including the hole in the ozone over Antarctica. It gets into how the scientists demurred on presenting solutions, how research was presented and manipulated by industry, which stalled and sowed doubt about the science. On the one hand, they made a lot of money from manufacturing and selling these chemicals. On the other hand, life on earth!