The World in 2030

104 The World in 2030
and fridges and they were destroying the protective ozone
layer around the planet. As a result of his demonstrations
the international Montreal Protocol 200 to outlaw CFCs was
signed in 1987. Since 1995 the developed nations have ceased
producing these propellants and coolants for aerosols and
fridges. Now the ozone holes have started to shrink again. 201
Had the ozone layer continued to deplete, millions of us
would have died prematurely of skin cancers resulting from
excess ultraviolet radiation reaching the planet’s surface.
James Lovelock is also the man who produced the ‘Gaia’
theory’ 202 of the Earth, suggesting that this planet is like a
super-organism in which every part is dependent on every
other part. Whether you choose to believe in the more
mystical and spiritual interpretations of Gaia is up to you,
but it is clear that many parts of this planet’s environment
are indeed closely interlinked.
Lovelock is not alone in forecasting an apocalypse caused
by climate change. James Canton, a futurist who has advised
former White House administrations, writes:
I am not an alarmist, but there is abundant evidence
that climate change and environmental threats
present a real and present danger to life as we know
it on the planet. If we do not fix this problem, the
safety, health and survival of the world’s population
is at stake. 203
And Australian writer and zoologist Professor Tim Flannery
agrees. As he puts it in his acclaimed book ‘The Weather
Makers’: