Watch a 1986 television special about the discovery of the ozone hole

Why the Antarctic climate enabled British scientists to discover the ozone hole

In the Antarctic stratosphere, polar conditions facilitate the formation of polar stratospheric clouds, which allow chlorine compounds from chlorofluorocarbons to accumulate. In 1985, British Antarctic Survey scientists detected massive springtime losses over Antarctica, as accumulated compounds destroyed significant amounts of ozone once sunlight returned.

How a skin cancerous growth shifted an initially skeptical President Reagan on the ozone crisis

While a 1985 Nature study revealing the Antarctic ozone hole jolted public concern, Reagan's administration was more focused on the Cold War than on environmental policy. His health scare and the market potential for developing alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons helped turn the tide, leading to the Montreal Protocol's unanimous ratification by a bipartisan Senate in 1988.

Hear firsthand how scientists and policymakers saved the ozone layer

In this episode, atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon and Protocol architect Stephen Andersen recount how scientific discovery, diplomacy, and public pressure drove the Montreal Protocol—and share lessons for tackling climate change.

How scientists earned themselves a Nobel Prize by discovering what destroyed ozone

In 1974, chemists Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland showed that chlorofluorocarbons—then used as aerosol propellants, refrigerants, and industrial solvents—rise into the stratosphere and, upon being struck by ultraviolet radiation, release chlorine atoms, which break apart ozone molecules. Their work earned them the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1995.

Track the current size of the Antarctic ozone hole with NASA's real-time data

NASA's Ozone Watch provides daily satellite images and time-lapse videos showing the extent of the Antarctic ozone hole. Each spring, scientists monitor its size and depth to measure recovery progress and detect any new chemical or climatic disruptions.

The history of the Montreal Protocol, the only universally ratified treaty in UN history

Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland discovered that chlorofluorocarbons released chlorine atoms that could break down molecules making up the protective ozone layer. Despite attempts to discredit scientists and economic concerns raised by politicians, the agreement to phase out ozone-depleting substances was signed in 1987.

The ozone layer is on track to recover to pre-1980 levels by mid-century

Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer is steadily recovering and, according to a 2022 assessment, is expected to return to 1980 levels by 2040 globally, 2045 over the Arctic, and 2066 over Antarctica.

Why the ozone hole altered Southern Hemisphere jet streams and rainfall patterns

Ozone depletion over Antarctica shifted jet streams southward, drying Australia while increasing rainfall in Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Around the turn of the millennium, these trends began to slow as the Montreal Protocol phased out ozone-depleting substances.

Discovering how the dinosaurs went extinct may have helped avert nuclear war

This NPR Throughline episode explains how the 1980 discovery that an asteroid-driven dust cloud killed the dinosaurs inspired Cold War scientists’ fears of “nuclear winter”—a sunlight-blocking aftermath of nuclear war that may have discouraged leaders from launching one.

Large oil companies knew about the impact of carbon emissions since the ’70s

PBS Frontline’s The Power of Big Oil reveals how industry giants like Exxon and Shell were researching climate change in the 1970s but then funded denial campaigns—using internal science to sow public doubt for decades.

Watch the breaking news report of the revelation that brought down the Nixon presidency

In August 1974, following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling, the White House released the "smoking gun" tape—revealing Nixon's role in the cover-up. Watch the CBS News report from Aug. 5, 1974, detailing the fallout from the release of the tapes.

The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill galvanized the modern environmental movement

In January 1969, an oil platform off the coast of Santa Barbara ruptured, releasing roughly 3 million gallons of crude into the Pacific. The spill killed over 10,000 seabirds, dolphins, and seals, coating 35 miles of coastline.

Watch a demonstration of the greenhouse effect in carbon dioxide

Some online experiments involving glass containers of air and carbon dioxide show no temperature differences upon exposure to infrared light because glass blocks that type of radiation. Using plastic bags, carbon dioxide can be demonstrated to absorb infrared radiation, thereby trapping energy and confirming its role as a greenhouse gas.

Watch every episode of David Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' series

A three-year global expedition by Attenborough and his team produced the television series, which debuted in the UK in 1979 and documented over 600 species in 40 countries. The series is estimated to have been seen by over 500 million people in more than 100 territories, including within the US, where is debuted on PBS in 1982.

Watch one of the greatest live TV shots ever

While James Burke was filming the 1978 docuseries "Connections" at the site of a rocket launch, he pulled off a perfectly-timed gesture without use of a green screen. Some say its the greatest live shot ever in TV history.

The US Olympic hockey team upset the USSR in 1980—later dubbed the 'Miracle on Ice'

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, a team of American college players defeated the heavily favored Soviet hockey team—shocking the world. The victory became a defining moment of Cold War sports rivalry and American national pride.

Los Angeles once suffered some of the worst smog on Earth

From the 1940s through the 1960s, Los Angeles was blanketed by dense, eye-burning smog so severe that drivers sometimes couldn't see traffic lights. The issue led to the nation's first local air pollution controls and inspired the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

See the celebration at the Berlin Wall as it fell in 1989

In November 1989, East German guards stood down as crowds surged across the nearly 100-mile barrier encircling West Berlin. Thousands celebrated the wall’s sudden irrelevance and collapse. This ABC News report captures the moment’s upheaval and joy.

Watch an animated, step-by-step reconstruction of the Chernobyl explosion

This video shows how a 1986 safety test at Chernobyl spiraled out of control—leading to a massive rise in temperatures, an explosion and reactor meltdown that produced the largest civilian nuclear disaster in history.

IFA 1931 hosted the first public TV demonstration

In 1931, Manfred von Ardenne presented his cathode ray tube television to the public for the first time, marking the first public demonstration of fully electronic TV. This article examines his breakthrough and the evolution of television technology since.

The massive gathering that rang in the first Earth Day

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and helped inspire a significant nationwide environmental movement. In Philadelphia, the holiday was rung in with a gathering in the city’s Fairmount Park featuring musicians, speakers, and over 10,000 attendees. This video from CBS offers remarkable footage from the day and explains why Philadelphians were especially drawn to the environmental cause.

Coral Bleaching

Coral reefs around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, are undergoing a crisis known as coral bleaching—which threatens both their existence and the ecosystems they support. This comprehensive report from the Australian Museum explores...

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

UFO sightings taken seriously by the US government

As UFOs make a resurgence in public awareness, take a trip back to the early decades of UFO research. This interactive shows the location and descriptions for some of the most fascinating incidents reported to a secretive Air Force team between 1947...

Watch a definitive girl group documentary

The 1983 documentary "Girl Groups: The Story of a Sound" features archival footage of some of the Shirelles, the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, and more alongside interviews with the performers and songwriters. It's a fascinating look back at the music, told by the people who pioneered it.

Watch a firsthand account of Hubble's first service mission to repair its faulty mirror

Hubble senior project scientist David Leckrone recalls initial public ridicule over the microscopic manufacturing error that put NASA's reputation at stake. In this behind-the-scenes interview, he breaks down the innovative fix deployed by space shuttle astronauts during Hubble's first servicing mission.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.