On the Mises Daily page, Rod Rojas argues against the regulators banning the use of CFCs: http://mises.org/daily/4888
There was a post a few weeks ago which talked about the privatization of natural resources and how this technique would protect scarce goods, wildlife, etc. The problem which was never answered, however, is how to do we apply property rights to air? In the case of CFCs, how do we hold people accountable if they are indeed destroying the Ozone Layer. Despite Rod’s point that CFCs are relatively heavy molecules, it is possible for them to move around to various degrees (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=chlorofluorocarbons-cfcs). Using this train of logic, I can say that if CFC’s are too heavy to make it to the Ozone Layer, then all Ozone, which also heavier than most of the components of air, should be falling to the surface of the Earth (and should have a long, long time ago)!
The greater point though - if people continue emitting junk into the air, who is ultimately responsible for the poorer quality which we consequently breathe? I can’t “buy” air unless I get it in tanks, and I have no desire walk around with a 50-pounder strapped onto my back as I paint myself in SPF 50 sunscreen to protect myself from a bombardment of UV radiation. Nor do I want to live life in a subterranean dwelling. Is the atmosphere the one domain which will forever remain public? If so, how do we ensure that people are responsible for actions that compromise its integrity?