Why you don’t hear about the ozone layer anymore

Finally, some good news about the environment. Subscribe and turn on notifications 🔔 so you don’t miss any videos: In the ’80s, scientists discovered there was a hole in the ozone over the South Pole. A significant layer of gas that deflects much of the sun’s radiation was disappearing much faster than anyone expected. Projections suggested it would collapse by 2050, increasing skin cancer rates, harming crops, and destroying the marine food chain. The situation was dire. But today, we are on the path to recovery. Dr. Susan Solomon, among other scientists, contributed key findings to understand what was depleting the ozone layer and how to address it. In this video she takes us back to her expedition to Antarctica, breaks down how we managed to fix this huge problem, and looks at our next big environmental challenge — climate change — with the unbridled optimism that drove her to fix the ozone hole. Further reading: To learn about the scientific discoveries by Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland that kickstarted research into chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the ’70s, take a look at their groundbreaking paper here: To read the 1985 paper that revealed there was an ozone hole forming over the South Pole, click here: You can find Solomon’s 1986 paper on her Antarctica expedition here: To read more of Solomon’s work, check out her publications here: To understand the Montreal Protocol in more detail, read the United Nations Environment Programme’s summary here: is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what’s really driving the events in the headlines. Check out Make sure you never miss behind the scenes content in the Vox Video newsletter, sign up here: Support Vox’s reporting with a one-time or recurring contribution: Shop the Vox merch store: Watch our full video catalog: Follow Vox on Facebook: Follow Vox on Twitter: Follow Vox on TikTok: @voxdotcom