ABSTRACT
Ozone depletion is a simple, seductive concept – the shield that protects us from the sun is being destroyed by man’s activities. The theory was first proposed in 1974, becoming internationally recognized in the 1987 Montreal Protocol, where agreement was reached to halve the use of ozone-destroying chemicals by the year 2000. Environmentalists argue that the Montreal Protocol’s precautionary principle should be applied to other, feared yet unproved, environmental issues: to wait and see is not good enough – positive action, based on current knowledge, must be taken now. Dissenting opinions, in the words of Vice-President Gore ‘undermine the effort to build a solid base of support for the difficult actions we must soon take’. I agree with the environmental movement that a lesson can be learned from the ozone debate. However, it is not the one they suggest.
