The damage to the ozone layer exemplifies this problem. As late as March 1988, the chairman of a major U.S. chemical company stated: “At the moment, scientific evidence does not point to the need for dramatic CFC emission reductions.”

The same company, however, recommended phasing out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) altogether. A change of heart? “It had nothing to do with whether the environment was being damaged or not,” explained Mostafa Tolba, director-general of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “It was all [about] who was going to gain an [economic] edge over who.” Now many scientists realize that the destruction of the ozone layer is one of the worst man-made environmental catastrophes in history.

According to UNEP estimates, it is possible that the ozone loss by the end of this decade will eventually cause hundreds of thousands of new cases of skin cancer every year. The effect on crops and fisheries is still unknown, but it is expected to be substantial.