A Story of Ozone: The Earth's Natural Sunscreen
- Edited by:
- Alison Schuyler Ogden
- Produced by:
- Alison Schuyler Ogden
- View full credits
Dr. Paul Newman is the chief scientist for atmospheric sciences at NASA Goddard. In this talk he discusses how chlorofluorocarbons were destroying the ozone layer, what policy-makers did about it, and what challenges the ozone layer faces today.
For complete transcript, click here.
In this talk, Dr. Paul Newman tells the story of how scientists and policy-makers safeguarded the Earth’s ozone layer and the world we avoided by regulating chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS) . Back in the 60s, we used chlorofluorocarbons, a chlorine-containing chemical, in everything from hairsprays and deodorants to foam products and air conditioners. But in 1974, chemists Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina published a paper claiming CFCs were destroying the ozone layer. The Molina-Rowland paper launched a debate in the scientific community that ultimately led to the halls of the United Nations. Today, more than 191 countries have signed the Montreal Protocol— a treaty that regulates the use of chlorofluorocarbons—and the ozone layer is on the mend. But the story has taken a new and unpredictable turn as the class of compounds that replaced CFCs act as greenhouse gases.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to: Alison Ogden
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Editor
- Alison Schuyler Ogden (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
Project scientist
- Paul Newman (NASA/GSFC)
Producer
- Alison Schuyler Ogden (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
Videographers
- John Caldwell (AIMM)
- Rob Andreoli (AIMM)
Technical support
- Rich Melnick (KBRwyle)
- Stuart A. Snodgrass (KBRwyle)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:- None
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