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September 28, 1980

 

On September 28, 1980, the 13 part series "Cosmos" first aired on public television. It made a media star of a scientist, Carl Sagan. In a later book, "Billions and Billions,Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millenium," Sagan would sketch out the conundrum that led American and German scientists to invent the ozone destroying Freon. It turned out that the chemicals used to allow refrigeration, in the 1920s, were poisonous gases like ammonia, and thus a search for an inert chemical began, a chemical which was not "...flammable, doesn't corrode, burn your eyes, attract bugs, or even bother the cat."

In outlining the ironic story of the invention of Freon, is Sagan blaming cats for climate change?

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