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How does nitrogen pollution harm the environment and human health? Climate change and the ozone layer Nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than methane and carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
- Four reasons why the world needs to limit nitrogen pollution
Here are four reasons why humanity needs to limit nitrogen...
- Why nitrogen management is key for climate change mitigation
The environmental interest in nitrogen (N 2), an essential...
- Four reasons why the world needs to limit nitrogen pollution
- Nitrogen pollution is disrupting life on land and underwater. When the availability of nitrogen compounds exceeds consumption by plants, excess nitrogen gets into the environment, often filtering into aquatic ecosystems.
- Nitrogen is a key contributor to climate change. When nitrogen in its active form, such as in fertiliser, is exposed to soil, microbial reactions take place that release nitrous oxide.
- Nitrogen pollution is a threat to human health. Water containing elevated levels of nitrate – a form of nitrogen resulting from animal waste, plant decomposition and fertiliser run-off – raises the risk of infants developing methemoglobinemia, commonly referred to as “blue baby syndrome”, which can be fatal.
- Nitrogen waste weighs on the economy. According to UNEP’s 2018-2019 Frontiers Report, nitrogen costs the global economy between US$340 billion and US$3.4 trillion annually when taking into account its impact on human health and ecosystems.
- From Guano to Green Revolution
- By Land, by Air, and by Sea
- Nutrient Pollution “Dead Zones”
- No Easy Answers, For Farmers, People Or The Planet
- A Slow Awakening
- A Harmony of Disasters
The struggle to provide, or “fix,” enough nitrogen in soil to grow bountiful crops has been a constant of human history. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are necessary components of photosynthesis; without enough, plants turn sickly and stunted. Nitrogen is naturally abundant, making up 80% of the atmosphere, but most plants can’t use it until it’s con...
Before the advent of synthetic fertilizers and fossil fuels, the movement of nitrogen through the biosphere was relatively stable. In what’s known as the “nitrogen cycle,” the element’s atoms traveled through flora and fauna, being released via excretion and death back into the ground, with some escaping through bacterial conversion to the atmosphe...
Across the planet, people whose livelihoods depend on lakes and oceans are bearing the brunt of the worsening crisis. For decades now, shrimpers who fish the Gulf of Mexico have borne the cost of one of the biggest marine “dead zones” in the world, with agricultural runoff traveling to the Gulf from the Midwest via the Mississippi River causing an ...
Sutton says a key problem blocking global action is what he calls “fragmentation” of efforts to address nitrogen pollution by policymakers. Agricultural runoff isn’t the only way that nitrogen is being pumped into the biosphere. It’s also released into the atmosphere as nitric oxide when fossil fuels are burned, and is also converted into another g...
As with the other planetary boundaries, policymakers have been slow to grasp the potentially catastrophic impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Those who have begun to recognize the scale of the problem are finding there are few palatable approaches to it. As with fossil fuel companies, industrial agribusiness wields immense political and e...
In 2018, a group of scientists released a studyanalyzing satellite images for 71 of the world’s lakes. The results were consistent across regions: More than half showed evidence of algae blooms, and they were getting worse. The few lakes that showed signs of recovery were primarily those that had also experienced a reduction in atmospheric temperat...
Oct 22, 2019 · The environmental interest in nitrogen (N 2), an essential component of the air we breathe, focuses on the conversion of N 2 into other chemically reactive forms. Some are vital for life itself and some cause costly and dangerous nitrogen pollution.
Dec 4, 2016 · Nitrogen from fertiliser, effluent from livestock and human sewage boost the growth of algae and cause water pollution. The estimated A$8.2 billion damage bill to the Great Barrier Reef is a...
Aug 7, 2017 · New research shows that increases in rainfall and extreme weather because of climate change will increase the amount of nitrogen polluting rivers and other waterways. The findings underscore the urgency of reforming agriculture to dramatically reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers.
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Jun 1, 2021 · Increased inputs of reactive nitrogen (N) by fertiliser production cause adverse effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as human health, through impacts on air, soil and water quality.
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