On this day in 2012 the famed and Nobel-Prize-winning scientist Sherry Rowland died. Rowland had been instrumental in the 1970s in translating scientific concern around the ozone-depleting effects of chlorofluorocarbons into policy action. (Ozone depletion concerns and action were key to the development of awareness of climate issues and the ability to “do” something about them).
As Rowland said, “What is the use of having developed a science well enough to make predictions if, in the end, all we’re willing to do is stand around and wait for them to come true.”
You can read a lovely “in memoriam” about him here.
There’s also a video about his work
Discovery of a Lifetime: F. Sherwood Rowland and the Ozone Layer – YouTube
You can read more about Rowland in the excellent book by Oreskes and Conway the Merchants of Doubt