Ralph J. Cicerone, scientist who worked to protect the ozone layer, has died | Hacker News Reader

Ralph J. Cicerone, scientist who worked to protect the ozone layer, has died

washingtonpost.com

142 pointssnake11710 comments

As a former HVAC engineering student, I was quite caught by "ozone" in this headline. Sorry, I did not continue with that career for some reason, for good or for bad, now doing an IT job. This ozone thing was talked about almost everyday, not everyday then very often, throughout the four-year study. I think it is a good example of "We did something, so a disaster did not happen". Maybe, also we should learn that we cannot let some people to prove they can create a disaster.

It is amazing how many people still harbor deranged fantasies about the big government conspiracy to deprive us of our God-given R-12. This insane screed was the first hit for me on Google. It doesn't give me hope that we'll solve climate change.

http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/environment/ozonefreon_fr...

You may present the argument you consider as well excused. My point is that in the area of HVAC and environmental engineering departments in the universities at the time, the "ozone hole" argument was in-disputable. So my metaphor is that, the DMV may propose or just stipulate the best driving protocol for humanoid on a motor vehicle. The contrary motion may need more comprehensive and comprehensible materials to be sound.

You can thank the Libertarian Mind Virus for much of that.

Much of it is thin cover for promoting precisely that false narrative, and with an exceptionally strong set of corporate backers behind it. I strongly recommend Philip Mirowski's work on the Mont Pelerin Society. Also Robert Proctor on agnotology, and Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway's Merchants of Doubt

http://www.worldcat.org/title/road-from-mont-pelerin-the-mak...

http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=11232

http://www.worldcat.org/title/merchants-of-doubt-how-a-handf...

I recall reading a journal paper about 10 years ago where they finally got accurate balloon instrumentation to the level of the stratosphere where the ozone-depleting reaction supposedly occurred . . . the actual degradation rate was way off than what theory predicted, like an order of magnitude. It's highly unlikely that CFC's were the direct cause of the fluctuations of the ozone layer during the period we began to measure it more carefully. I'm looking for the paper in question but it was a long time ago, forgive me.

Very interested in reading it, if you can find it & post. Thanks :)

This reminded me, I grew up with not only ozone but also acid rain as the environmental disasters of the day (born in '82; grew up in Ohio). I don't hear about either anymore.

Am I not paying attention? Are they not getting attention? Or as you said "did we do something, so a disaster did not happen"?

Went to school at UCI when he was chancellor, heard some of his talks, and attended some mixers where he was present. He was highly respected by everyone, but the most memorable quality I remember of him was his humility and friendliness to everyone.

Zot zot zot! I started at UCI just after Cicerone left to head the NAS, but heard from everyone who knew him how wonderful he was. I did, though, have the pleasure of sitting in Sherry Rowland's[1] Chem H2B class for a week, before they demoted me back to the regular track for my B- in H2A. :-)

[1]: for those who don't know, Rowland won the Nobel Prize in 1995 with Mario Molina and Paul Crutzen for their work on the destruction of the ozone layer via CFCs. I believe that Cicerone received some recognition for his contributions to their work.

What is zot: https://ucirvinegradinterconnect.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/zo...

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