Am I the only one who remembers when everyone was freaking out over the hole in the ozone layer? I can clearly recall, as a child growing up in the 1970s, how everyone was worried about a hole in the ozone layer and all of the dire consequences that would result.

According to the BBC, ozone is a layer of the atmosphere about 30 miles from the surface of the Earth which forms an “invisible protective shield over the planet, absorbing damaging radiation from the sun.” (Walker, 2022) Scientists warned that without the ozone layer, humans would be more susceptible to skin cancer and cataracts, plants would not grow properly, and phytoplankton in the ocean would be destroyed, causing a major disruption in the food chain. I also remember learning that the reason for this crisis was aerosol cans. The chemicals used as propellent in things like deodorant, hairspray, and oven cleaner were responsible for depleting the Earth’s ozone.

However, you never hear about the ozone layer anymore, and do you want to know why? Because we fixed it! Yes, believe it or not, no one called it a “hoax” or fake news. Companies started switching to roll-on and solid deodorant and pump action containers for hairspray and household cleaning products. Even more shockingly, consumers accepted the new packaging because we believed that having a hole in the ozone layer would be very, very bad. No one complained that it was too “woke” or that the government was trying to “control us.” Corporations and ordinary people cooperated and we fixed the problem.

So, what I can’t understand is why now, with new environmental threats associated with climate change, is no one talking about the awesome job that we “Earthlings” did at repairing the ozone layer? I mean, it was the “dark ages” of the 1970s. There were no cell phones. There was no social media. Computers were slow and took up entire rooms in a handful of companies around the world. Yet, somehow, nobody made the ozone problem political. There weren’t any billionaires worrying that changing the packaging of their products for the good of the environment was going to bankrupt their companies. People worked together and “got it done.”

However, what I don’t remember is the media or the scientists or the government ever announcing that our efforts had been successful. Why didn’t anyone ever come back and say, “Hey Guys! We did it! The ozone layer isn’t in danger anymore! Great job! Let’s celebrate!”

So, here’s an idea. Climate scientists, Environmental Protection Agency, heads of Congressional Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Public Works, and Science, Space and Technology, why don’t you all get together with your counterparts around the world and plan a big celebration. Something like, “Hurray! We fixed the ozone layer!” Then, once everyone is feeling all proud of themselves, and maybe on a sugar high from the “We fixed the ozone layer” cakes (because what’s a celebration without cake?) tell everyone, “Hey! Let’s see if we can do the same thing with climate change?” What do you say? It certainly couldn’t make things any worse, could it?

References

Walker, K. (2022, March 21). What Happened to the World’s Ozone Hole? Retrieved from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220321-what-happened-to-the-worlds-ozone-hole