Ozone-safe coolants turned into far more potent greenhouse gases

Evidence

One example of high consumption involves unintentional adverse environmental effects. The coolants that had long been used in air condition-ers were destroying the ozone layer, which blocks carcinogenic ultraviolet rays. A substitute coolant spared the ozone layer—but turned out to be an enormously more powerful agent of global warming than carbon dioxide (Rosenthal & Lehren, 2012b). The populations of India and China are understandably installing home air-conditioning at a rapid pace. Alarmed climate scientists estimate that over a quarter of projected global warming will be due to the coolant gases by midcentury. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2927 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A well-intentioned coolant fix produced a worse climate problem — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2927; Precautionary ozone policy succeeded precisely by distrusting risk-assessment tools — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental…, 135

Broader Connections

• A well-intentioned coolant fix produced a worse climate problem #expands (0.98) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2927