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Saturday, March 14, 2020
The Ozone Disaster
The ozone shield, which is part of the earth’s stratosphere, helps prevent dangerous UV rays from entering the earth’s surface. These dangerous UV rays could cause skin cancer, blindness, or immune diseases. Over fifty years ago, scientists discovered that chemicals in aerosol sprays could destroy ozone molecules, causing great panic for Americans. Twenty years later, in the mid-1980s, when Reagan was in office, NASA scientists discovered an ozone hole in the Antarctic. Scientists knew that action needed to be taken. Reagan, however, at the time, was more preoccupied with other issues. However, as the issue was talked about more and more, Reagan finally took action by phasing out chlorofluorocarbons, which was the chemical compound that was associated with the destruction of ozone molecules. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed by over twenty nations including the US. This treaty was designed to reduce pollution and begin to ban the chlorofluorocarbons. Today, the ozone hole is the smallest that has ever been recorded. This incident is somewhat similar to the climate change issue today. Unfortunately, currently, the climate change issue is a much more polarizing issue than the ozone hole issue was. Trying to solve the issue with the ozone layer was much more of a bipartisan issue, unlike today’s climate change issue. Nevertheless, the action taken by Reagan’s administration highlights their resilience and the ability to recover from climate problems through taking action.
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As you touched on briefly in your blog, Reagan was not initially worried about this issue. Upon entering office, Reagan's critics never expected much of out him in terms of environmental reforms, judging him based on what he said in 1981, "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." While his statement wasn't necessarily factual, his lack of focus on the environment would show up. A firm believer in the lessening of government regulation, Reagan quickly attempted to deregulate the EPA upon entering office, which caused a mass resignation of EPA officials in 1983. Other examples of Reagan's slight indifference to the environment is when he ignored the dangers of acid rain. After the EPA asked Reagan to allocate a budget committed to reduce the cause of acid rain, Reagan dismissed the proposal and put into the scientific evidence of the cause and effect of acid rain. Thus, Reagan's act on the Ozone layer can be seen as one of his few environmental achievements during his presidency.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Environment.htm
In your post, I thought it was interesting that the Montreal Protocol was not a very polarizing issue in the US and it did not have trouble being ratified. Today, the Montreal Protocol has been ratified by every single country in the world, which I think is pretty incredible. The work to stop pollution of the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons is expected to ensure the recovery of the layer by the middle of the 21st century. Furthermore, since you talked about how climate change is a very bipartisan today, I researched President Trump's beliefs about the Montreal Protocol and found that they are not positive. For example, during his 2016 campaign, he said "So if I take hairspray and I spray it in my apartment, which is all sealed, you’re telling me that affects the ozone layer? Yes. I say no way folks. No way. No way." Despite attempts by his administration to halt funding for protocol initiatives, Congress has refused.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.state.gov/key-topics-office-of-environmental-quality-and-transboundary-issues/the-montreal-protocol-on-substances-that-deplete-the-ozone-layer/
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/21/reagan-seeks-to-protect-ozone-layer-1987-1067252
I find it unsurprising that at first, Reagan wasn't too concerned with the deteriorating Ozone layer. When it comes to environmental issues, there are always people who are late to jump on the train so to speak. What could've lit a fire under Reagan was that a couple months after the announcement of the Ozone layer, he had a skin cancer growth removed from his nose. He also really enjoyed to be outside which I never really knew about. So I think he began to see how the Ozone layer issue would and was filtering into his day to day life. Later in 2016, the Montreal Protocol was updated to include hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), which can be found in refrigerators and air conditioners.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://time.com/5564651/reagan-ozone-hole/
I found the post really interesting and having a lot of current relevance. Something I looked into was the current effects of the Montreal Protocol. When the original bill banned the usage of ODSs, they were mostly replaced by another substance called HFCs. Though a better alternative in many ways, the HFCs still often damaged the environment, sometimes up to ten times the amount of carbon dioxide. HFCs are currently being widely used in appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioning, and its contribution to greenhouse gasses is expected to increase by a magnitude of 20 in the next decade. In 2016, however, the Montreal agreement was amended to limit usage and curb the implementation of HFC appliances, reducing its potential impact on global warming. The plan also offered economic incentives internationally to benefit developing nations willing to switch.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/recent-international-developments-under-montreal-protocol