This was a problem. We just acted to ban CFCs, which solved the problem. Now the ozone hole is recovering. I wouldn’t say it turned out not to be a problem though. The human race just had the brains and corporation to come together and deal with it.
You missed the point. CFCs were mostly manufactured by a tiny number of manufacturers in a few specific industries. Things like refrigerants, spray cans, etc. Governments could easily regulate the handful of CFC producers. Alternative products were quickly found that didn’t require people to make major changes in their lives.
The climate change problem is a completely different animal. Billions of vehicles and fossil dependent supply chains sustain the lives of most of the human race. It’s taken decades of investment to even develop alternatives for these, let alone completely switching the fleets over. Plus electricity generation. Plus heating. Plus emissions from agriculture and land use. And on and on. Fossil fuels are not just some minor industrial compounds we can phase out and replace. We built an entire civilization around them. And that system is what’s currently keeping everyone alive.
We as a species are nature’s ultimate pyromaniacs, and we’ve been tasked with the problem of solving the global coordination problem of the regulation of fire itself.
Looking at the ozone situation and lamenting we haven’t solved climate change is like someone lamenting they can’t single-handedly take on a million man army, even though their combat prowess was proven when they stepped on an ant.
People just lump both problems into the category of “global environmental issues” and assume they’re even in the same universe of difficulty.
This was a problem. We just acted to ban CFCs, which solved the problem. Now the ozone hole is recovering. I wouldn’t say it turned out not to be a problem though. The human race just had the brains and corporation to come together and deal with it.
Why does that sound like such an absurd and faraway fantasy nowadays
Because it is I think. Welcome back to the Dark Ages, population: everyone, torches provided, critical thinking not included.
This is like a runner lamenting how they lossed at the Olympics saying, “how could this have happened? I was the star runner of my third grade class!”
It’s more like being frustrated how things can be so fucked up.
You missed the point. CFCs were mostly manufactured by a tiny number of manufacturers in a few specific industries. Things like refrigerants, spray cans, etc. Governments could easily regulate the handful of CFC producers. Alternative products were quickly found that didn’t require people to make major changes in their lives.
The climate change problem is a completely different animal. Billions of vehicles and fossil dependent supply chains sustain the lives of most of the human race. It’s taken decades of investment to even develop alternatives for these, let alone completely switching the fleets over. Plus electricity generation. Plus heating. Plus emissions from agriculture and land use. And on and on. Fossil fuels are not just some minor industrial compounds we can phase out and replace. We built an entire civilization around them. And that system is what’s currently keeping everyone alive.
We as a species are nature’s ultimate pyromaniacs, and we’ve been tasked with the problem of solving the global coordination problem of the regulation of fire itself.
Looking at the ozone situation and lamenting we haven’t solved climate change is like someone lamenting they can’t single-handedly take on a million man army, even though their combat prowess was proven when they stepped on an ant.
People just lump both problems into the category of “global environmental issues” and assume they’re even in the same universe of difficulty.