During a time where we see so many aspects of the climate getting worse, it was encouraging to see the news that the ozone layer is repairing itself, and on the path to being completely healed. We have a long path ahead of us to combat climate chaos, but this example of success is a great template for showing that humans are capable of taking decisive action and working together to address dangers that affect the entire planet.
The article discusses the 1987 Montreal Protocol, in which the countries of the world agreed to ban the refrigerants and aerosols that were significantly weakening the ozone layer. We’ve seen the levels of two chemicals that were weakening the ozone, chlorine and bromine, decrease by 11.5 percent and 14.5 percent respectively since the ’90s.
I hope that we can use this success as an example for driving further action on climate chaos. We can stop the worst parts of climate chaos, but we must take decisive action and work together.
We have solutions, such as enacting a tax on carbon, and we even have bipartisan support for these solutions: 75 percent of Republicans under 40 support putting a price on carbon pollution and giving regular dividends to households (Luntz Global, May 20, 2019). But we must take action to actually enact these solutions so we can see more successes like the ozone layer.
