F. Sherwood Rowland saved the world. It's as simple as that. In the early 1970s, the chemist, who died March 10 at 84, began looking at chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)--aerosol compounds used in everything from deodorant to refrigerators. In 1974, Rowland and colleague Mario Molina showed how CFCs were destroying the ozone, the thin layer of molecules shielding the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. It was monumental work that earned them the active opposition of the chemical industry. But Rowland stood firm, publicly warning about the dangers of CFCs. After British researchers found a hole in the ozone over Antarctica in 1985, nations...
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