ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

American Opinion: The healing of the ozone layer gives hope, but addressing climate change will be harder

From the editorial: We have all the tools we need to fight this existential threat and we now know that taking decisive action can get results. We can’t wait a moment longer to act.

The crew of the Apollo 17 took this photograph of Earth in December 1972 while the spacecraft was traveling between the Earth and the Moon.
The crew of the Apollo 17 took this photograph of Earth in December 1972 while the spacecraft was traveling between the Earth and the Moon.
(NASA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS)

Now for some good news about our planet: The ozone layer is healing.

American Opinion
American Opinion
Tribune graphic / Forum News Service
More American Opinion:
The Justice Department should ask Cannon to recuse herself, and if she refuses, it should appeal for reassignment of the case.
From the editorial: The right to marry whom you love should not be subject to the whims of an out-of-step conservative court or be left to a patchwork of state regulations. Congress must make the Respect for Marriage Act the law of the land.
From American Opinion editorial: Enter the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, a nationwide effort that’s being made to investigate and take legal action against companies who bring foreign robocalls into the United States. The coalition includes attorneys general from all 50 states.
From the American Opinioin editorial: Late in 2021, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally created a process to replace derogatory names of geographic features across the nation. She declared the word “squaw” to be derogatory and ordered a federal panel — called the Board on Geographic Names — to move forward with procedures to remove that word from federal usage.

A recent United Nations-backed assessment found continued progress in the global effort to repair the shield-like layer high up in the stratosphere that protects Earth and its inhabitants from harmful ultraviolet radiation that causes skin cancer and hurts plants and animals. The ozone layer is now on track to be restored to 1980s levels over much of the world by 2040, over the Arctic by 2045 and the Antarctic by 2066.

The gradual recovery of the ozone layer has been held up as proof that humanity can succeed with sustained, collective action against a shared threat to our environment. So should it also give us hope for the climate crisis? Not if we ignore its example and continue with the same plodding rate of action.

The progress scientists have measured is a direct result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, a treaty approved by every country in the world outlawing chemicals that eat away at the ozone layer, including chlorofluorocarbons that were once used in canned aerosol sprays and refrigerants. Nearly 99% of those banned ozone-depleting chemicals have now been phased out, according to the report.

If international cooperation is working successfully to reverse the thinning of the ozone layer, it stands to reason that multilateral efforts could also prove successful in the fight against climate change and fossil fuels. Or as World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement announcing the report, “ozone action sets a precedent for climate action.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The news is encouraging, but the comparison works only up to a point. Curbing global warming is a far more difficult and an all-encompassing task, requiring us to replace the burning of fossil fuels that are at the center of the global economy with clean renewable energy, while reversing the destruction of forests and other ecosystems that store carbon.

Fossil fuels are also far more ubiquitous in our society than the chemicals that caused ozone depletion, with fewer applications, mostly in air conditioning and refrigeration, as propellants in aerosol cans and in foams and solvents, and were replaced over time with ozone-safe alternatives with little disruption to the economy. Oil and gas are piped and shipped across nations and pumped into our vehicles and homes. Petrochemicals are widespread in the products we use daily. Practically every kind of consumption — from the food we eat to the vehicles we use — contributes to climate change.

The good news is we already know the solutions and have the technology needed to switch to renewable energy. But to succeed in curbing climate change, humanity will have to overcome powerful, entrenched fossil fuel interests and their beholden politicians. These industries have engaged in decades-long disinformation campaigns to delay climate action and try to cling to their profits for as long as possible.

We’ve certainly seen some progress, including the growth of solar, wind and other renewable energy, the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. But overall, climate action has been slow, and still isn’t happening at anywhere near the scale or urgency needed.

More Opinion:
Editorial cartoonist John Darkow draws on the groundhog's correct prediction for six more weeks of winter in 2023.
From the commentary:
From the commentary: As bystanders in the political farce consuming much of the Republican race for president, we can give thanks that DeSantis has decided to battle against the sinister forces of wokeness and leave the important issues pretty much alone.
From the commentary: The fact that most Americans speak only English puts our country at an economic disadvantage and threatens national security if we cannot understand and analyze potential threats such as terrorism or contagions.
From the editorial: A no-fly list for those dangerous passengers could be just what we all need.
An editorial cartoon by Dave Granlund.
Editorial cartoonist Dave Granlund draws on the federal banking system.
From the commentary: The antisemitism on college campuses coincides with a troubling rise in anti-Israel sentiment.
From the column: "We take our engagement with communities seriously to ensure the right people know what will be coming through towns in the unlikely event there is an accident."
From the editorial: For the moment, though, assuring the safety of the financial system and getting on top of inflation are separate tasks. This is no time to retreat.

It took only about two years after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole for global leaders to adopt the Montreal Protocol, showing how quickly the world can come together to confront an environmental threat. But with climate change, scientists have known for decades that greenhouse gas pollution is dangerously heating up the planet. Yet global leaders are still largely dithering, making only incremental progress when we need to be racing to avert catastrophic warming. At last year’s U.N. climate summit in Egypt, the world’s nations could only agree on a pathetically weak agreement calling for a “phasedown of unabated coal power” when it is obvious the solution is to quickly phase out all fossil fuels.

It’s possible that decades from now we will be celebrating the near-elimination of fossil fuels and tracking the recovery of the atmosphere from our reckless dumping of greenhouse gases.

But hoping so isn’t enough. We have all the tools we need to fight this existential threat and we now know that taking decisive action can get results. We can’t wait a moment longer to act.

ADVERTISEMENT

This American Opinion editorial is the view of the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. Send feedback to: opinion@wctrib.com.

©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

______________________________________________________

This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.

What To Read Next
Get Local

ADVERTISEMENT