3 ms·

The chap who put lead in petrol was also an early enthusiast for the CFCs which put a hole in the ionosphere, thank you Mr Midgley Jr.

JoeAltmaier 3y ago
Didn't he also invent dry-cleaning fluid? Flourine-based, powerful stuff.
- fancy_pantser 3y ago
  Martinizing dry cleaning process was Henry Martin.
  - JoeAltmaier 3y ago
    Maybe I was thinking of Thomas Midgley Jr. Freon and leaded gasoline
leeoniya 3y ago
ah yes, the "one-man environmental disaster" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.
- noobermin 3y ago
  Dear god, reading that bio is a horror story. While you can blame Midgley somewhat he was definitely enabled by the oil companies.
- BD103 3y ago
  > Environmental historian J. R. McNeill stated that he "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."
  - ironmagma 3y ago
    Only made possible by the millions going along with what that one individual did. This guy was like a hacker moving fast and breaking things, had no clue what he was doing. Nobody does when they build things for the first time.
    - stemlord 3y ago
      That speaks more negatively to that tired SV motto than it speaks positively to the leaded gasoline guy.
      - ironmagma 3y ago
        Yes, it's not intended to be a positive sentiment, just an observation about the great organism that is all of humanity.
  - EmuAGR 3y ago
    Maybe that quote should've referred to the first photosynthetic organism... (due mostly to reproduction than ability itself).
aunty_helen 3y ago
While people will be quick to judge, it’s necessary to remember how much of a boon refrigeration and high octane gasoline was for human progress. Humanity is full of mistakes like DDT and lead makeup. We continue to make these mistakes today, but it’s important to know that we progress with technology. CFCs are no longer necessary and high octane unleaded now can be had at the pump.
- afavour 3y ago
  IIRC the gas company execs were absolutely aware of the dangers of leaded gasoline and made sure that information never became public. Yes, it allowed a lot of progress. But society should have been able to make an informed decision about whether it was worth it.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    "IIRC the gas company execs were absolutely aware of the dangers of leaded gasoline and made sure that information never became public." Sounds like most disruptors, PI-based, and food companies today - Facebook algorithms, Uber's early safety/compliance/sexism issues, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if certain food related things become a big deal in a couple of decades. Stuff like hormones and meds in animals and xenohormones in packaging. Even things like synthetic food dyes have some evidence of hyper activity in children, to the point the EU is putting warning labels on some things. When the CEOs have their families avoiding their own products, that's a damn big warning that they know. It shouldn't be a surprise.
    - ChainOfFools 3y ago
      The cycle keeps repeating in part because the people who do this kind of move fast and break (other people's) things crap in the beginning, whose behavior we excuse and paper over in the name of progress later on, are the ones who also accumulate commanding, NSA wealth and influence offstage. They thereby greatly contribute to setting the stage for future behavior like this, through their soft power influence - what sort of people they endorse, promote, and financially sponsor. It should matter who gets rich. People have for too long been naively (or foolishly) swallowing the elite-favored narrative that someone else's money is none of anyone's business; a dynamically imbalanced moral which may have been weakly defensible in a byegone world that was far less tightly integrated, consolidating and wealth-connected than it has become.
nielsbot 3y ago
I found numerous articles about him. I think this was on HN before: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-man-two-deadly-substances-20th-century-180963269/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-man-two-deadly...

JoeAltmaier 3y ago

Didn't he also invent dry-cleaning fluid? Flourine-based, powerful stuff.

fancy_pantser 3y ago
Martinizing dry cleaning process was Henry Martin.
- JoeAltmaier 3y ago
  Maybe I was thinking of Thomas Midgley Jr. Freon and leaded gasoline

leeoniya 3y ago

ah yes, the "one-man environmental disaster" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.

noobermin 3y ago
Dear god, reading that bio is a horror story. While you can blame Midgley somewhat he was definitely enabled by the oil companies.
BD103 3y ago
> Environmental historian J. R. McNeill stated that he "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."
- ironmagma 3y ago
  Only made possible by the millions going along with what that one individual did. This guy was like a hacker moving fast and breaking things, had no clue what he was doing. Nobody does when they build things for the first time.
  - stemlord 3y ago
    That speaks more negatively to that tired SV motto than it speaks positively to the leaded gasoline guy.
    - ironmagma 3y ago
      Yes, it's not intended to be a positive sentiment, just an observation about the great organism that is all of humanity.
- EmuAGR 3y ago
  Maybe that quote should've referred to the first photosynthetic organism... (due mostly to reproduction than ability itself).

aunty_helen 3y ago

While people will be quick to judge, it’s necessary to remember how much of a boon refrigeration and high octane gasoline was for human progress. Humanity is full of mistakes like DDT and lead makeup. We continue to make these mistakes today, but it’s important to know that we progress with technology. CFCs are no longer necessary and high octane unleaded now can be had at the pump.

afavour 3y ago
IIRC the gas company execs were absolutely aware of the dangers of leaded gasoline and made sure that information never became public. Yes, it allowed a lot of progress. But society should have been able to make an informed decision about whether it was worth it.
- giantg2 3y ago
  "IIRC the gas company execs were absolutely aware of the dangers of leaded gasoline and made sure that information never became public." Sounds like most disruptors, PI-based, and food companies today - Facebook algorithms, Uber's early safety/compliance/sexism issues, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if certain food related things become a big deal in a couple of decades. Stuff like hormones and meds in animals and xenohormones in packaging. Even things like synthetic food dyes have some evidence of hyper activity in children, to the point the EU is putting warning labels on some things. When the CEOs have their families avoiding their own products, that's a damn big warning that they know. It shouldn't be a surprise.
  - ChainOfFools 3y ago
    The cycle keeps repeating in part because the people who do this kind of move fast and break (other people's) things crap in the beginning, whose behavior we excuse and paper over in the name of progress later on, are the ones who also accumulate commanding, NSA wealth and influence offstage. They thereby greatly contribute to setting the stage for future behavior like this, through their soft power influence - what sort of people they endorse, promote, and financially sponsor. It should matter who gets rich. People have for too long been naively (or foolishly) swallowing the elite-favored narrative that someone else's money is none of anyone's business; a dynamically imbalanced moral which may have been weakly defensible in a byegone world that was far less tightly integrated, consolidating and wealth-connected than it has become.

nielsbot 3y ago

I found numerous articles about him. I think this was on HN before: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-man-two-deadly-substances-20th-century-180963269/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-man-two-deadly...