Ep. 25: It was like, bam, half the ozone layer over Antarctica is gone
12/20/19 • 25 min
The discovery of the ozone hole in the mid-1980s sent shock waves through the scientific community and society at large. As scientists scrambled to make sense of the unprecedented phenomenon, a clear culprit emerged. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—once thought of as near-miraculous compounds that revolutionized refrigeration—were suddenly revealed to be one of the biggest environmental dangers known to humankind. What followed was an international push by scientists, media, and policy makers to ban CFCs. In October 2019, NASA announced the ozone hole is the smallest recorded since 1982. In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, we hear from some of the scientists who were instrumental in discovering—and helping heal—the ozone hole and who think lessons learned could help us fight climate change.
A script of this episode is available here.
To read more from C&EN on hot trends in chemistry, check out our 2019 Year in Chemistry issue at cenm.ag/yic2019.
Image credit: D. Murphy/NOAA
The discovery of the ozone hole in the mid-1980s sent shock waves through the scientific community and society at large. As scientists scrambled to make sense of the unprecedented phenomenon, a clear culprit emerged. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—once thought of as near-miraculous compounds that revolutionized refrigeration—were suddenly revealed to be one of the biggest environmental dangers known to humankind. What followed was an international push by scientists, media, and policy makers to ban CFCs. In October 2019, NASA announced the ozone hole is the smallest recorded since 1982. In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, we hear from some of the scientists who were instrumental in discovering—and helping heal—the ozone hole and who think lessons learned could help us fight climate change.
A script of this episode is available here.
To read more from C&EN on hot trends in chemistry, check out our 2019 Year in Chemistry issue at cenm.ag/yic2019.
Image credit: D. Murphy/NOAA
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Ep. 24: Kids are happy to get to ask whatever they want
For its latest episode, Stereo Chemistry handed its recorders over to kid journalists interviewing grown-up chemists about cutting-edge research. Listen in as the children get answers to questions about DNA, environmental clean-up, and even C-H activation. The kids’ reporting was part of an outreach event called Science Storytellers that took place during the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego in August. Science Storytellers empowers kids to ask questions as they interact, one-on-one, with real scientists. In this episode, you’ll hear from the creator of the Science Storytellers program, Jenny Cutraro, to learn how this outreach activity is designed to break down barriers between scientists and the public.
For a full transcript and additional resources, visit our website.
And here's our Facebook Live event from the ACS Kid Zone.
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Bonus episode: All this is happening at Northvolt speed
Late last year, C&EN contributing editor Mark Peplow toured a new battery company’s R&D facility in Sweden. That company, called Northvolt, aims to produce the world’s greenest lithium-ion batteries, to help meet the growing demand for electric vehicles. Ride along with Mark to learn more about the company, its work, and its goals in the first bonus episode of Stereo Chemistry.
Check out Mark's full story for C&EN here: https://cen.acs.org/energy/energy-storage-/Northvolt-building-future-greener-batteries/97/i48
Image credit: Northvolt
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