Editor: Jan Weaver

422 Tucker Hall, MU Campus

Enlightened Self Interest and Corporate Environmentalism

by Jan Weaver

Under natural conditions, 90% of the earth's ozone is in the stratosphere where it intercepts and absorbs UV radiation from the sun. This is the "good" ozone. Ozone in the stratosphere forms when UV light from the sun hits an oxygen molecule, O2, causing it to split into two very reactive free oxygen atoms, O. These react with other O2s to form ozone, O3. Eventually an O3 will break down and recombine to form O2, but the formation and breakdown are a steady state process ensuring a relatively constant level of O3 in the stratosphere.

Except that there are now Chlorofluorocarbons in the stratosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, were invented in the 1930's by Thomas Midgely Jr. as a safer alternative than the chemicals then in use as refrigerants - methyl chloride (toxic) and sulfur dioxide (toxic) and ammonia (toxic and flammable). To show their relative harmlessness, Midgely even inhaled CFCs and then used his breath to blow out a candle.

By the 1960's CFC's, along with carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform, were widely used for refrigeration (DuPont's Freon), as components of foam plastics (Dow's Styrofoam), as solvents, and as aerosol propellants. A related group of halocarbons (carbons with halogens - chlorine, fluorine and bromine - attached) were used for extinguishing fires (halon gas) and methyl bromide was used as a soil and cargo fumigant.

CFCs released into the environment naturally drift up to the stratosphere. When a CFC molecule is struck by UV light, it breaks off a Chlorine atom. The chlorine reacts with the ozone to break it up into O2 and a free oxygen atom, which the chlorine scoops up. The resulting ClO collides with another free atom of oxygen and the oxygens combine to form O2. By speeding up the breakdown of O3, and by pulling free oxygen atoms out and catalyzing the formation of O2, the chlorine was steadily reducing the amount of ozone in the stratosphere.

The process is accelerated at the poles because ice particles in the clouds that form at very cold temperatures, -80° C, act as sites for the breakdown to happen. The British Antarctic Survey had been monitoring ozone since 1957 and had a 20 year record of regular seasonal patterns. But beginning in the mid 1970's significant decreases were being recorded.

In 1973 F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina proposed that there was a connection between CFCs and the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer (for which they won the Nobel Prize in 1995 along with Paul Crutzen). The National Academy of Sciences confirmed their conclusions in 1976, and use of aerosol propellants using CFCs was banned in 1978 (for gen X folks, that is why there are jokes about hairspray and deodorant destroying the ozone in those seventies movies - modern propellants do not have this effect).

While industry cooperated with the withdrawal of CFCs as propellants, they dug in their heels at any other interference with a $2 billion annual business and $135 billion of installed refrigeration equipment that used CFCs, arguing that the science was not conclusive. Still, the evidence mounted. In 1985 the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) photographs showed an actual hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic, a place where the ozone was so thin, it provided virtually no protection from UV. In 1987, in a second round of treaty talks on ozone depletion, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed by 27 countries (including the U.S.) committing to reduce production and consumption of CFCs by 50% of 1986 levels by 1996. But industry continued to stall.

Then a NASA Ozone Trends Panel published a 1988 report saying that in addition to the hole in the Antarctic, ozone was thinning globally. Within 9 days DuPont announced it was going to phaseout CFCs altogether (though it did give itself until 1995). Why the dramatic turnaround?

Well, it might have been a sense of public responsibility, but there is also research in economic theory that suggests in situations where environmental impacts are high and environmentalists are numerous, well organized and motivated - a legitimate threat - the smart thing for a company to do is get ahead of the regulatory curve by voluntarily reducing its emissions. Even if the reductions aren't as great as would have been achieved by regulations, environmentalists may prefer to reserve their political and social capital for more serious fights. Or if regulatory legislation does go forward, a company that already reduced emissions could influence the final legislation. Or, a company might deflect or mitigate enforcement of regulations stricter than their standards if seen as environmentally responsible and trustworthy. This preemptive approach is called corporate environmentalism.

DuPont appears to have seen the future in Rowland and Molina's 1973 paper. It began researching alternatives to CFCs in the 1970s. By adding a hydrogen, to turn CFCs into HCFCs, DuPont could speed up the break down of the gas, reducing relative lifetimes in the stratosphere from between 45 and 640 years to between 2 and 12 years. By 1988, the year of its turnaround, DuPont had a commercially feasible alternative to CFCs. It wasn't pushed into cooperation, it jumped at it! And by phasing out CFCs ahead of the treaty deadlines, DuPont spurred the international community to negotiate a full phaseout, leaving DuPont way ahead of its competitors.

The HCFCs are not the endgame. They still cause ozone depletion, though at a reduced rate, and some of them are actually stronger greenhouse gases than the CFCs they replaced. But now it is not just DuPont working on the next generation of refrigerants, Dow and Allied Signal are getting ready. And a consortium of eleven companies in the refrigerant field has invested in a cooperative research effort to speed up the development of environmentally safer alternatives.

There is gold in coporate environmentalism, and smart managers know how to find it. This enlightened self interest has got to be the strategy we encourage in every company if we are going to minimize the economic, social and political dislocation we are headed for in this century under a business as usual scenario.

Corporate Environmentalism http://www.bus.umich.edu/FaultyResearch/CorpEnviro_042105.htm

BioRegional Quiz: What is Missouri's UV index in the summer?

Job of the Month: If you are interested in an environmental career, go here for some background on the 5 different environmental career paths, some help in deciding the best path for you and links to environmental job sites at the bottom of the page. http://web.missouri.edu/~esiwww/careers.html

Special Events/Programs/Classes/Talks

DEVIL'S ICEBOX WILD CAVE TOURS: August 1 through October 10. One day adventure style guided tours through cave passages. Must be in good physical condition, able to carry 65 lb canoe, paddle 1/2 mile through low, tight spots, able tolerate cold, wetness, exertion, confinement and darkness. $25. For details visit http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge/cave.htm

MOVIES WITH A MESSAGE: Friday August 4, 7 pm, Unitarian Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd. "Global Warming, the Signs and the Science. Followed by open discussion of the movie and related issues. Free and Open to the Public

YOUTH FISHING TOURNAMENT: Saturday August 5, Finger Lakes State Park. Show-me State Games $20.

https://www.smsg.org/sports/sports_info.asp?Area=FI

MOUNTAIN BIKING: Sunday August 6, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Show-me State Games $20. https://www.smsg.org/sports/sports_info.asp?Area=MB

HIKE CLEAR CREEK: Saturday August 17, 1-3 pm Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Devil's Icebox Parking Lot. Hike and wade up the stream and help collect baseline data on the stream channel.

SHOW-ME YARDS AND NEIGHBORHOODS WORKSHOP: Wednesdays August 16, 23 and 30, 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the ARC -1701 West Ash. Adding nutrients without adding chemicals, rain gardens, solving moles, fungus and crabgrass, native plants, etc. To register, call 874-7616 or email flgordon@gocolumbiamo.com

Organization Meetings and Contact Information

AUDUBON SOCIETY: 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, Unitarian Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd.

BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION: http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Weds 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr.

CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: 875-0539 or http://peaceworks.missouri.org/

CHOUTEAU GROTTO: http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, The Casteel Building, 1518 Business Loop 70 East

COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE: 882-7463 or email hendricksonm@missouri.edu for information.

COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOL. PROGRAMS: 874-6271 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW

CITIZENS WATERSHED COMMITTEE: (573) 526-8916, Third Tuesdays, 6:30 pm, Daniel Boone Bldg

COMMUNITY GARDEN COALITION: 875-5995 or cgardenc@yahoo.com or http://cgc.missouri.org

ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/

FRIENDS OF BIG MUDDY: friends@friendsofbigmuddy.org or www.friendsofbigmuddy.org

FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE M. S. P.: 815-9255 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S.

GREENBELT COALITION: 442-4789, gbelt@coin.org or http://greenbelt.missouri.org

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE: 815-9836, drop off or buy gently used doors, windows, hardware, tools, cabinets, appliances, unopened paint, fixtures - Mon to Fri 8:30 to 3:30, Saturday 8:00 to 1:00 pm, 1906 Monroe St. Columbia

MISSOURI ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: www.meea.org

MO NATIVE PLANT SOC.: http://columbianativeplants.missouri.org/, 2nd Mon, odd months, 7 p.m., UU Church, 2615 Shepard

MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK: 573-256-2602 or www.moriver.org or moriver@coin.org

PEDNET COALITION: email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org

RIVER RELIEF: http://www.riverrelief.org/

ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org

SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION: (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org

SIERRA CLUB: 875-2916 or http://sierra.osage.missouri.org Meet 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Foundation, 1107 University Ave

WILD ONES: 573 882-9909, ext 3257 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays.

Answer to BioRegional Quiz - In Missouri, the UV index at noon is between 8 and 11. The UV index ranges from 0 at night to 16 at noon at tropical latitudes. It is influenced by the elevation of the sun, the amount of ozone in the stratosphere and clouds in the sky. A person who burns easily can tolerate 10 minutes under sunny Missouri skies before damaging their skin. A person who usually burns, about 25 minutes, one who burns rarely, about an hour, and even a person who never burns will have damage after 100 minutes.

NOAA UV index explanation: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/uv_index/uv_what.shtml

Feedback - Got an opinion? If we have space, we will consider publishing it. Submit it by email (envstudy@missouri.edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 211 Lowry , MU, Columbia MO 65211), or call Jan Weaver to talk about it (882-7116). MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.