That Ozone Politics Played A Role Date: March 4, 1996
(The Scientist, Vol:10, #5, pg.9 & 12, March 4, 1996)
(Copyright ©, The Scientist, Inc.)
In awarding the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry to the originators of the stratospheric ozone depletion hypothesis, the Swedish Academy of Sciences has chosen to make a political statement. Quoting from the citation: "The three researchers have contributed to our salvation from a global environmental problem that could have catastrophic consequences [emphasis added]." The selection committee evidently decided to reward global environmentalism rather than a fundamental advance in the basic science of chemistry.
An Oct. 13, 1995, New York Times editorial acknowledged, with obvious approval, that politics played a role in the award. The Associated Press on Oct. 12, 1995, quoted Henning Rohde, a member of the Swedish Academy, as saying: "The timing is good in view of the [December 1995] Vienna meeting [to tighten ...
