A Story of Ozone: The Earth's Natural Sunscreen

  • Released Sunday, April 5th, 2015
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:49PM
  • ID: 11813

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

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Tapes

This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:
  • Ozone with Paul Newman (ID: 2015023)
    Friday, February 13, 2015 at 5:00AM
    Produced by - David Hon