Stratospheric ozone depletion: Successful responses to a global environmental insult

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is filtered stratospheric ozone, such that most of the harmful UYB radiation does not reach the Earth. Excessive exposure to UYB causes some skin cancers and some eye disorders, and may have effects on the immune system. Over the last part of the 20th century, stratospheric ozone has heen depleted as a result of human activities, namely the production and consumption of halocarbons. With the recognition of first the likelihood and then the reality of ozone depletion, there has been a relatively rapid international response to decrease the production and use of the causative chemicals and to find substitutes that are less destructive of stratospheric ozone. The history of the policy response to stratospheric ozone depletion is explored, and this story is compared to the response to global climate change. The similarities and differcnces between stratospheric owne deplction and climate change are highlighted.