Odds are, if you were around in the ’80s and ’90s, you probably heard about the depletion of the ozone layer. You might even remember your favorite brand of hairspray being pulled from the shelves in the name of saving the ozone. The hole in the ozone was the stuff of dystopian thrillers and was seen across the globe as an international crisis. However, in 2021, the crisis seems to have disappeared from the public eye. This left a lot of people asking themselves, “What ever happened with the ozone layer?”
The answer is almost as shocking as the problem itself. We fixed it! Well, just about. As a human population, we banded together to stop this environmental crisis in its tracks by implementing the Montréal Protocol on September 16, 1987. It was the first treaty to be ratified by every country in the world. The story serves as a model for international cooperation and now, 34 years later, shows how powerful science-led policies can be.