The Spread of Chlorofluorocarbons
With the introduction of CFC-11 and CFC-12, the air-conditioning and refrigeration industries began to boom. In 1932, the Carrier Corporation manufactured and marketed the first self-contained household air-conditioning unit, "the Atmospheric Cabinet." This brought the idea of comfort through technology and chemistry to the household consumer. It was not long before consumers devoured the new comforts brought by synthetic chemicals. Though consumer acceptance was slow at first, it eventually become an irresistible force.
Just before the beginning of the second World War, on September 8, 1941, Thomas Midgley Jr. received the American Chemical Society's Priestly award for outstanding creativity in the field of chemistry. His contributions to the field were extensive. CFCs are but one of his many innovations, all of which were designed to help humans live better and longer. In less than fifty years, however, this part of his work has come to be seen as something which could endanger the lives of all humans and perhaps, the planet Earth.
After the war, consumers demanded the many things that they had to do without during the times of rationing and conserving. Consumption was high, as were most people's hopes for the future. In 1956, America's first air-conditioned mall opened in Edina, Minnesota, ushering in the age of convenience and shopping pleasure. By 1958, 90% of the theaters, 40% of restaurants, and 25% of the hotel rooms in America were air-conditioned.
This idea of air-conditioned comfort was not confined to areas of entertainment. Between 1962 and 1966, 75% of all new apartments built were equipped with air-conditioning. Once the living environment had air-conditioning, American automobile air-conditioning soon followed. In 1963, 15% of the 6.5 cars in America had air-conditioning and only eight years later, in 1971, 58% of all American cars had air-conditioning, as did many truck cabs and other conveyances. By 1972, the living areas of America were being air-conditioned as well. More than half of all residences were equipped with some form of air-conditioning.
The spread of CFCs had not only made its way through American industry and the world, but these products had followed people everywhere. It had become possible for a person to remain within a few feet of air-conditioned space from the time they left their home in the morning until they returned at night. This one invention had become so commonplace that many could not imagine doing without it even for a short time. As with many other CFC related technologies, the usefulness and reliability of the technology made it very popular. CFCs did their job cheaply, efficiently, and well. For over forty years, no one thought there would ever be a problem with these wonder chemicals that had become a vital part of so many people's daily lives.
In December of l973, two scientists made a discovery that would change the way the scientific community and the general public would view CFCs. F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina had studied the effects of chlorofluorocarbons in the upper atmosphere and had concluded that these substances had the potential to deplete the ozone in the stratosphere. The significance of what they were claiming was so profound that they knew there would be a great deal of discussion about their theory. In order to understand what the Rowland and Molina theory suggested, it is necessary to discuss some facts about the Earth's atmosphere and the molecules that are found there. In particular, ozone.
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