ABSTRACT
Before we examine the question of how the ozone layer became perceived as endangered, some background information seems to be useful. Based on sources like Dotto and Schiff (1978), Graedel and Crutzen (1995) and my interview material, key scientific concepts and a common body of knowledge are introduced which then became challenged. The chapter traces major developments in scientific understanding and practices, focusing on scientific specialities and interdisciplinarity as well as on scientists’ normative orientations and belief systems. It concludes with a short review of the revisionist ‘backlash’ against the emerging consensus view of the late 1980s.
