A pending environmental disaster, and how we humans got it right

Remember the ozone hole? It was real despite all the poo-poohing from those who didn't want to face its implications. Like global warming denial today, an alliance of ozone-hole-deniers tried to stave off any regulatory action in the 1980s, saying it was not valid. They protrayed the ozone hole as a stalking horse for a liberal political agenda. Fortunately the science prevailed and led to global political action which banned further use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Now American scientists have looked at what would have happened if the CFC ban had not been enacted and enforced by governments around the world. The planet would have suffered an ultraviolet radiation disaster.

Though we're not making and releasing CFCs in large quantities, much of the CFC residue from the last century will remain in the upper atmosphere for decades longer, contiuning to "eat" ozone which protects us earthlings from UV radiation. [poll id="105"]