Fertilizer use | TableDebates

Report calls for policy reforms to achieve planetary and human health

This new report “Planetary Health: Safeguarding Human Health in the Anthropocene Epoch” launched by The Rockefeller Foundation - Lancet Commission argues that changing environmental conditions such as increased carbon dioxide emissions, rampant use of fertilizer and the acidification of the oceans could lead to major health challenges for millions of people. Increasing population, unsustainable consumption and production and the over-exploitation of natural resources are also factors straining the planet's resources and having an impact on human health.

New research says nitrous oxide emissions could double by 2050

A new study from researchers at The Earth Institute of Colombia University and the Woods Hole Research Center says emissions of nitrous oxide could double by the middle of the century if left unchecked. Nitrous oxide is the third biggest contributor to human-induced climate warming after carbon dioxide and methane.

Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States

This paper published in PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - looks at the environmental costs of food production and in particular livestock based food production. The paper is based on annual 2000–2010 data for land, irrigation water, and fertilizer from the USDA, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Energy.

Leverage points for improving global food security and the environment

This study looks at the double challenge of increasing food security while addressing environmental problems caused by agriculture. It identifies a set of key actions in three broad areas that hold the greatest potential for achieving these efficiency and sustainability goals.

Solar-powered toilet to improve sanitation and hygiene

We include this initiative because it addresses the challenges of of ‘closing the food loop’. This innovative solar-thermal toilet was developed by a team led by CU-Boulder Professor Karl Linden to improve sanitation and hygiene in developing countries.

Imbalances in nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer – implications for future yields for African agriculture

Nitrogen Fertilizer Remains in Soils, Leaks Towards Groundwater for Decades

Nitrogen calculator webtool

Scientists at Lancaster, Virginia and Oxford universities have produced a web-based tool that allows anyone living in the UK to see their own ‘nitrogen footprint’.

Study: Adding selenium to fertilisers could combat selenium deficiency.

A new study suggests that enriching crops by adding a naturally-occurring soil mineral to fertilisers could potentially help to reduce disease and premature death in Malawi. Dietary deficiency of the mineral selenium plays a vital role in keeping the immune system healthy and fighting illness and is likely to be endemic among the Malawi population.