The Inside Story of How the World Closed the Hole in the Ozone Layer

The year is 1985. Ronald Regan is president. Margaret Thatcher is prime minister of the United Kingdom. Michael Jackson, White Snake and George Michael are dominating the billboard charts. Back to the Future is a smash hit at the box office.

And scientists have just discovered a giant hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.

Scientists were warning that if left unchecked, this hole in the ozone would grow ever larger, letting through harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun that would wreak havoc on human health. Skin cancer rates would skyrocket, as would cataracts. In cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. going outside for just a short period of time in the summer would be dangerous. Meanwhile, the basic ecology of the world’s oceans could change, as plankton which makes up the bottom of the food chain, would die off.

But in two years time, before even Universal Pictures released the sequel to Back to the Future the international community had come together to create a bindin…