How corporate denial harms our world and continues to threaten our future. Corporations faced with proof that they are hurting people or the planet have a long history of denying evidence, blaming victims, complaining of witch hunts, attacking their critics’ motives, and otherwise rationalizing their harmful activities. Denial campaigns have let corporations continue dangerous practices that cause widespread suffering, death, and environmental destruction. And, by undermining social trust in science and government, corporate denial has made it harder for our democracy to function. Barbara Freese, an environmental attorney, confronted corporate denial years ago when cross-examining coal industry witnesses who were disputing the science of climate change. She set out to discover how far from reality corporate denial had led society in the past and what damage it had done. Her resulting, deeply-researched book is an epic tour through eight campaigns of denial waged by industries defending the slave trade, radium consumption, unsafe cars, leaded gasoline, ozone-destroying chemicals, tobacco, the investment products that caused the financial crisis, and the fossil fuels destabilizing our climate. Some of the denials are appalling (slave ships are festive). Some are absurd (nicotine is not addictive). Some are dangerously comforting (natural systems prevent ozone depletion). Together they reveal much about the group dynamics of delusion and deception. Industrial-Strength Denial delves into the larger social dramas surrounding these denials, including how people outside the industries fought back using evidence and the tools of democracy. It also explores what it is about the corporation itself that reliably promotes such denial, drawing on psychological research into how cognition and morality are altered by tribalism, power, conflict, anonymity, social norms, market ideology, and of course, money. Industrial-Strength Denial warns that the corporate form gives people tremendous power to inadvertently cause harm while making it especially hard for them to recognize and feel responsible for that harm.

By the 1950s CFCs had found further applications: as propellants in aerosol spray cans, in the manufacture of Styrofoam, and as vital industrial solvents. Then, in 1974, after millions of tons of CFCs had been released into the Earth's atmosphere, two scientists at the University of California demonstrated that these same "safe" wonder substances had altered the fundamental chemistry of the atmosphere and had begun to erode the ozone layer - the protective shield of all life on earth. The battle to restrict CFCs was fought in laboratories, at international conferences, and in the halls of Congress, pitting environmentalists intent on remedying what had become a global crisis against industrialists and government officials opposed to regulation. Finally, in 1987, fifty-seven nations signed the first global environmental treaty - the Montreal Protocol, which regulated the further production of CFCs and ushered in a new era of international cooperation on the environment.

The real story behind the Ozone Crisis Straight from today's headlines, award-winning science writer Sharon Roan offers an incisive look at one of the planet's most pressing ecological concerns. Ozone Crisis tells the compelling, often shocking story of the discovery of ozone depletion, the fight to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and future prospects and prognoses. "At last a sober, well-researched, and well-written book on an important environmental problem...a good yarn about stratospheric ozone...This is clearly one of the best case studies of the evolution of science-intensive public policy." --Choice "An engaging account...skillfully recounts in terms readily understood by lay readers the shrewd detective work and unprecedented scientific cooperation that helped give rise to the Montreal Treaty." --John C. Topping, President, Climate Institute "Whether you have the slightest interest in environmental matters or not, this book should be on your 'must check out!' list." --Western Producer "Anyone interested in understanding contemporary environmental policy issues will find Roan has written a well-researched, well-balanced, and informative book in an easy-to-read, journalistic style." --Naturalist Review

Here, in one single, unbiased volume, are the views and opinions that will shape the world's approach to the ozone dilemma for years to come. Important scientific studies, significant papers, and international conferences are detailed, as are national and international laws and regulations pertaining to emissions and chemical pollutants. Biographical sketches of researchers and scientists who helped bring the issue of ozone depletion to the forefront of environmental concerns are included.