Nitrogen
It lays waste to ecosystems, allows wars to kill millions and has kept billions from starvation - The Economist
HWN Suggests
Our Addiction to Nitrogen Fertilizers Undermines the Planet’s Health: What Are the Alternatives?
The agriculture sector in particular now depends on synthetic fertilizers, namely nitrogen-based fertilizers, to continue the pace of production and keep up with the ever-growing demand.
As a cornerstone of modern agriculture, nitrogen fertilizers contributed to the rapid growth and high productivity of farming over the last century, while also raising alarm bells over their environmental impacts. While not as visually wrenching as a burning forest or displaced animals, our dependence on nitrogen-based fertilizers fuels the demise of vital planetary ecosystems and our own health.
Featured
Deadly, dirty, indispensable: the nitrogen industry has changed the world
It lays waste to ecosystems, allows wars to kill millions and has kept billions from starvation
Why firms are racing to produce green ammonia
Ammonia production currently accounts for nearly 2% of global CO2 emissions. Now, a string of companies aim to prove that they can make green ammonia, or alternatives, without wrecking the climate.
Articles of Interest
Reducing nitrogen use key to human and planetary health: study
Reducing nitrogen pollution from global croplands is a "grand challenge," the group of international researchers said in a study in Nature outlining a dozen urgently-needed reforms.
Scientists make groundbreaking discovery that could secure our food supply...
Fertilizer is one of the most pollution-heavy aspects of farming because the production of its key ingredient, ammonia, requires high heat and intense pressure. Currently, synthetic ammonia production accounts for 2% of planet-warming pollution each year. Now, a team of Chinese and Australian scientists announced they have discovered a new way to produce ammonia for fertilizer that lessens its environmental impact.
