ABSTRACT
The basic message of Peter Mayer–Tasch's essay is a very important one, namely, that there are already alarming indications that the present overexploitation of the Earth's resources and degradation of the environment will eventually lead to a catastrophe. In 1974 the first hypothesis was presented about another kind of degradation of the global ecosystem caused by the increasing use of chemicals produced by the "developed" world, namely, the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). CFC's also contribute significantly to the greenhouse gas effect. However, it is probably their indirect impact on human health that has made it possible to reach a comparatively effective international agreement on a phaseout of the production of these chemicals, by 2000 in industrialized countries and by 2010 in developing countries. In view of its fundamental importance for global security, the question about the future capacity of the global life-support system requires particular attention.
