O-zone Discussion

"I never really hear about o-zone anymore. Remember when you'd always hear about CFCs and hairspray?"

My mother was mildly surprised to hear about the aspect of the o-zone problem I'd come to think of as a little like nuclear fall-out; after the precipitating incident (or decades thereof) the trouble has compounded, and the future of the complications might be worse than predicted.

It seems that keeping environmental issues in perspective is difficult for folks in the era of soundbites and catch-phrases.

Specialization within the scientific community is necessary, to a certain extent, but particularly when it comes to presenting global problems to "laypeople," some level of consilience seems wanting. Although the book (cover at right) doesn't focus much on chemistry, E.O. Wilson writes eloquently about the need, in an age of ever more specific specialization, for synthesis among academic disciplines.

I think of TCM doctors as facilitators for consilience within health-care; there must be a way to move between aspects of health without compromising treatment. This tactic could be helpfully employed in terms of public education and awareness of climate issues. Today the popular terms are (according to informal polling over the course of the week) GLOBAL WARMING, CLIMATE CHANGE, GREENING, CARBON-FOOTPRINT, and that's about it. How about linking the problems we talked about in the previous decades, in order to build a coherent narrative and thence begin working towards ameliorating the situation?