As recently as 1997, 7 out of 10 Americans thought spray cans caused ozone depletion, as evidenced by a survey conducted by the Consumer Aerosol Products Council. They didn't realize that aerosol technology has been environmentally safe for over 20 years.

Why do we associate aerosol technology with ozone depletion? Decades ago, before we even knew about the dangers of ozone depletion, we used chemicals known as CFCs in refrigerators, air conditioners, and spray cans. But in the mid-1970s, two scientists discovered that these chemicals could harm our ozone layer, and more recently, CFC's were found to potentially contribute to global warming.

The aerosol industry acted immediately, seeking out and switching to alternative chemical propellants that were environmentally friendly. In fact, by the time the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of CFCs in 1978, most aerosol products in the United States no longer used them.

But still, the public perception that aerosol technology is bad for the Earth has persisted to this day. When the story of the dangerous use of CFCs first broke, it was all over the news. Many people missed the follow-up reports on the aerosol industry's reaction. Aerosol products continue to be stigmatized by CFCs even though they stopped using them long ago.

Aerosol are safe for the ozone, safe for you and fully recyclable. It's something you may not think about every time you pick up a bottle of hairspray or air freshener, but quite a lot of aerosol history has gone into that earth-friendly package.

The Ozone Layer

In 1985, scientists confirmed that the ozone layer surrounding the earth appeared to be thinning and indicated certain chemicals were depleting the ozone layer. It was a theory that originated in the 1970s, and the theory that sparked the aerosol industry's modification towards safer propellant chemicals.

Our planet is hugged by a layer of air that reaches out 383 miles from the Earth's surface. The atmosphere that surrounds us protects us from the frigid temperatures and harsh conditions of space, and helps support our ecosystem, absorbing the warmth of the sun, recycling water, and providing us with the moderate climate that allows life to exist in what would be an otherwise inhospitable environment. The atmosphere is, quite literally, the Earth's safety blanket.

So of course we want to take care of it. But just as the well-loved “blankies” of our childhood became worn and ragged, so has our atmosphere. Our use of gasses known as “chlorofluorocarbons” has begun to destroy the very delicate topmost level of our atmosphere, the ozone layer. “Ozone” is a highly reactive form of oxygen. It serves as our primary form of defense from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the Sun, absorbing the worst of them before they reach us on the Earth's surface.

Global Warming

But just as we worry about dangerous chemicals that allow ultraviolet rays to make it through the protective ozone layer, we worry about other gasses that become trapped within our atmosphere, the “Greenhouse Gases”. The Earth's atmosphere is made up of mostly nitrogen and oxygen. But there are other gases in the air that trap the heat of the sun and make the Earth warmer than it would be otherwise, producing what is known as the “Greenhouse Effect”.

Not all “greenhouse gases” are manmade. In fact, most greenhouse gases are from natural sources. Water vapor is actually the main contributor. We actually need the warming of the natural Greenhouse Effect to make Earth suitable for life. Without it, scientists estimate the surface of the planet would be about 54 degrees colder than it is today, far too cold to support life. It is our use of high concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that have made the situation unnatural. In recent decades, the human race has contributed a great deal of manmade greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, exacerbating the greenhouse effect to dangerous degrees of global warming.

The Montreal Protocol

Some years after CDCs were removed from aerosol production in the United States, the international community agreed to phase out all uses of CDCs, including refridgeration and air condition. The Montreal Protocol was finalized in 1987 to assure other countries and industries followed the load of the U.S. aerosol industry in the elimination of CFCs.