Comment on Aerosol
jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 day agoI thought the aerosols that affect the environment refer to the tiny aerosol particles at higher levels in the atmosphere.
Everyone in the 80s seemed to confuse the with aerosol hairspray, which wasn’t really a huge contributor. Still aren’t most sprays today generally not this so called aerosol style anymore?
Late 80s hairsprays and other canned aerosols were a sizeable contributor.
They were an easy fix, and stopped being a problem almost as soon as people decided to do something. That was way before the problem reached mainstream media, so when people started talking about it, they weren’t a problem anymore. But they surely were a problem for some time.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 hours ago
It was the Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that were used as the primary propellant in aerosol sprays. More commonly known by the brand name Freon. Notice that basically every aerosol can manufactured today has a “CFC Free” badge somewhere. Refrigerant systems also moved away from using actual Freon, and now use alternative refrigerants.
CFCs were actually invented by the same guy who invented leaded gasoline, Thomas Midgley Jr… He is probably the single most environmentally destructive chemical engineer in history.
mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 21 hours ago
On the plus side, one of his inventions killed Thomas Midgley Jr., arguably the most environmentally destructive chemical engineer in history
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 15 hours ago
Name me another chemical engineer that could be argued did more harm. I don’t think all of Monsanto with agent orange and Roundup has done more than the TEL and CFC fuckup.
Where’s he buried? How long is the line to piss on his headstone?
unknown@piefed.social 7 hours ago
Fritz Haber invented nitrogrn fixing fertilizers and is responsible for the massive baby boom across the globe after ww2 because so much more food could now be grown.
Except now there are 8b+ people on an increasingly warming and polluted planet and these fertilizers (alongside modern farming techniques and climate collapse, both of which came about because of this baby boom…) have all but destroyed the planets’ arable land.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is warning that 90% of the earth’s top soil will be depleted by 2050.
VinegarChunks@lemmus.org 8 hours ago
Why were “CFC propellants” even helpful to the manufacturer? Can’t you just use compressed air in spray bottles to make them spray?