When I was growing up in the 1980s, the environmental hot topics were the hole in the ozone layer, acid rain from Canada, pollution in the Hudson River and the clearcutting of Amazon rainforests.
The discovery of the hole in the ozone layer was made in 1985. The harmful ultraviolet radiation from these holes were destined to cause an increase in skin cancer and cataracts, reduced agricultural productivity, and disruption of marine ecosystems. Only two years later, the Montreal Protocol was agreed on by 197 countries to stop the use of 100 ozone-depleting chemicals, including chlorofluorocarbons, which were once commonly found in spray cans, refrigerants, and foam insulation and most rampant in Aqua Net hairspray. (We had very big hair back then.) The holes in the ozone have been slowly mending ever since and are projected to be gone by 2066. It’s hard to imagine such swift environmental action being taken today.
Aci…
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