True Left

Chemist Thomas Midgley invented both leaded gasoline and CFC chemicals (the leading cause of the destruction of the ozone layer). Of course, if he didn't invent them, some other Westerner would have.

Thomas Midgley Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944) was an American mechanical and chemical engineer. He played a major role in developing leaded gasoline (Tetraethyllead) and some of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), better known in the USA by the brand name Freon; both products were later banned due to concerns about their impact on human health and the environment.
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In 1923, Midgley took a long vacation in Miami, Florida, to cure himself of lead poisoning. He found "that my lungs have been affected and that it is necessary to drop all work and get a large supply of fresh air".[9]
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In 1924, unsatisfied with the speed of DuPont's TEL production using the "bromide process", General Motors and the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now known as ExxonMobil) created the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation to produce and market TEL. Ethyl Corporation built a new chemical plant using a high-temperature ethyl chloride process at the Bayway Refinery in New Jersey.[9] However, within the first two months of its operation, the new plant was plagued by more cases of lead poisoning, hallucinations, insanity, and five deaths.[7]

On October 30, 1924, Midgley participated in a press conference to demonstrate the apparent safety of TEL, in which he poured TEL over his hands, placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose, and inhaled its vapor for 60 seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems.[7][10] However, the State of New Jersey ordered the Bayway plant to be closed a few days later, and Jersey Standard was forbidden to manufacture TEL again without state permission. Midgley would later have to take leave of absence from work after being diagnosed with lead poisoning.[11]
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In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley contracted poliomyelitis, which left him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to lift himself out of bed. In 1944, he became entangled in the device and died of strangulation.[17][18][19]
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Midgley's legacy has been scarred by the negative environmental impact of leaded gasoline and Freon.[20] Environmental historian J. R. McNeill opined that Midgley "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history",[21] and Bill Bryson remarked that Midgley possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny".[22] Use of leaded gasoline, which he invented, released large quantities of lead into the atmosphere all over the world.[20] High atmospheric lead levels have been linked with serious long-term health problems from childhood, including neurological impairment,[23][24][25] and with increased levels of violence and criminality in cities.[26][27][28] Time magazine included both leaded gasoline and CFCs on its list of "The 50 Worst Inventions".[29]

Midgley died three decades before the ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas effects of CFCs in the atmosphere became widely known.[30] In 1987, the Montreal Protocol phased out the use of CFCs like Freon.[31]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.