Better living through chemistry?

I recall learning in college about the ozone hole and its connection to CFCs that were used in refrigerators, freezers and spray deodorants, among other products. I immediately switched to roll-on deodorants. At the time, global warming wasn’t a big discussion but CFCs are a thousand times more potent as greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Now, freezers and refrigerators use alternative gases, and the ozone hole is recovering.

I certainly remember leaded gasoline, but didn’t realize until recently the human cost of its use. About ten years ago, Kevin Drum, one of my favorite bloggers who was writing for Mother Jones at the time, called attention to the remarkable correlation in blood lead levels and the rise and fall of violent crime 20 years later. He noted a similar correlation worldwide, and that the declines in violent crime correlated with the year that leaded gasoline was banned in each country, offset by ca. 20 years. We’ve known for decades that childhood lead exposure reduces IQ and interferes with the parts of the brain regulate impulse control.

A key to the widespread use of leaded gas and CFCs was marketing. In particular, environmental lead was widely known to be harmful, but the industry was making so much money, it could afford the sophisticated marketing campaigns that allowed the public to avert its eyes from the harm.

CFSs, leaded gas, plastics, internal combustion engines and natural gas appliances have made life in developed countries more convenient, but at a staggering human and environmental cost. Science and engineering brought us these plagues, and science and engineering can come up with solutions, if we demand them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV3dnLzthDA