Scientists Beginning to Sound Warnings About Atmospheric Nitrogen Compounds
B. McPherson
This short film explains very well the greenhouse effect on Earth.
While the world is focussing on the production and release
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, other gasses are quietly adding to the
catastrophe. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and nitrous oxide is 300 times
more efficient at keeping the Earth warmed.
While much of the Earth’s atmosphere is made up of the
element nitrogen, it is the nitrogen in reactive compounds that is starting to
worry atmospheric scientists.
The Green Revolution was made possible by the industrial
production of chemical fertilizers. It, combined with antibiotics has allowed
the Earth’s population of humans to swell from 1.6 billion at the beginning of
the 20th century to seven billion this year. Nitrogen is a key
nutrient in plant growth. Unfortunately over application of nitrogen
fertilizers to crops breaks down into nitrous oxide in the atmosphere and may
be swept into watercourses polluting them and eventually finding its way into
the air as well.
Well meaning people have passed laws to subsidize the
production of ethanol from corn to partly replace gasoline from foreign
sources. Because corn is a ‘greedy feeder’ nitrogen fertilizer is lavished on
it resulting in the suplus adding to global greenhouse gases.
“Current biofuel targets impart other major problems for global warming and human health that Howarth says scientists have "long underestimated." Fertilizers release significant quantities of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with 300 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide (CO2).”Scientific American
The industrialization of agriculture in N.America has seen
the rise of concentrated confined animal husbandry. The waste of thousands of
animals and sewage from humans contributes to the nitrogen compound loads being
released into the atmosphere. The mass raising of meat animals has lowered the
price per pound and allowed more people to afford more meat for their dinner
tables.
The 20th century’s Green Revolution made possible
an exponential amount of food around the world. It is in these later years that
we are starting to see some of the unintended consequences of that revolution.
Major Greenhouse Gases – without these gases in the
atmosphere too much heat would be lost from Earth and the planet would likely
be locked in ice. Nature requires a balance to maintain homeostasis.
·
water vapour
·
carbon dioxide
·
methane
·
nitrous oxide
·
ozone
Agriculture is being increasingly implicated in the most severe environmental degradation caused by humans - From the earliest days, Man has over-cultivated the lands they resided in, leaving deserts in his wake.
ReplyDeleteWorse, most people may not be aware that commercial agriculture uses PETROLEUM based fertilizers! Talk about adding fuel to the fire.
The forcing of crops with artificial fertilizers depletes the soil of its organic matter, kills the beneficial organisms and turns fertile soil into dirt. Thanks for the comments.
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