Now Streaming
The remarkable story of the deadly hole in the ozone layer - and how we managed to fix it.
The forgotten story of the hole in the ozone layer - and how the world came together to fix it. The scientists and politicians who persuaded Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to take action reveal how the planetary problem was solved.
Now Streaming
The remarkable story of the deadly hole in the ozone layer - and how we managed to fix it.
The forgotten story of the hole in the ozone layer - and how the world came together to fix it. The scientists and politicians who persuaded Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to take action reveal how the planetary problem was solved.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Providing Support for PBS.org
Photos from Ozone Hole: How We Saved the Planet
1/8
Close-up graphic of the ozone layer.
Windfall Films
2/8
Figure standing in front of ozone graphic.
Windfall Films/NASA
3/8
Mario Molina
Windfall Films
4/8
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Windfall Films/Netherlands National Archive
5/8
Ozone layer graphic showing the hole over Antartica.
BBC Motion Gallery/Getty Images
6/8
Scientist Susan Solomon
Windfall Films
7/8
An image from the NASA Archive showing the ozone layer.
NASA Ozone Watch
8/8
Chart of the correlation between the increase of chlorine and depletion of ozone in the atmosphere over Antartica in 1987.
RTS RADIO TÉLÉVISION SUISSE
About the Show
The forgotten story of the hole in the ozone layer - and how the world came together to fix it. The scientists and politicians who persuaded Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to take action reveal how the planetary problem was solved.
"Ozone Hole: How We Saved The Planet" tells the largely-forgotten story of the hole in the ozone layer - and how the nations of the world came together to fix it.
Interviewees include Secretary George Shultz, who persuaded President Reagan to phase out CFC chemical production; Professor Mario Molina, who won the Nobel Prize for identifying the CFC problem; Dr James Lovelock whose work inspired Professor Molina to examine CFCs; Dr Jonathan Shanklin, who discovered the ozone hole; Sir Robert Watson who lead the international scientific assessment of the ozone problem.
In September 1987, more than 30 countries agreed to cut the use of CFCs and signed the Montreal Protocol - the world’s first global treaty to reduce pollution.
In 1990, Margaret Thatcher urged further support for the Montreal Protocol so that CFCs could be phased out completely and developing nations could afford ozone friendly technologies.
It worked. Today, the ozone hole is showing signs of recovery. We have avoided a future in which unfiltered UV radiation from the sun would cause millions of cases of skin cancer. For those at the heart of the story, the Montreal Protocol shows that it is possible for the world to come together to prevent environmental destruction.
Producers and Presenters
Support for PBS.org provided by: