Global Population and the Nitrogen Cycle
A.
- Humans are growing in population
- The availability of nitrogen rich fertilizers have taken away the fundamental restriction on food production
- Nitrogen is needed for DNA and RNA, the molecules that store and transfer genetic information.
- Nitrogen also makes proteins, messengers, receptors, catalysts and structural components of all plant and animal cells.
- Humans acquire nitrogen from the food we eat
- Nitrogen makes up 78% of the atmosphere
- Nitrogen "fixation" is when the nitrogen molecules are split then incorporated into the chemically reactive compound ammonia
- Nitrogen is usually in short supply because of the growth of crops and various natural losses continually remove fixed nitrogen from the soil
- Scientists learned that the two other key nutrients, potassium and phosphorus were limiting agricultural yields much less frequently and that any shortages of these two elements were also much easier to correct
- The massive introduction of nitrogen in the soil is causing many problems for the environment from local health to global changes
- High nitrate levels can cause life-threatening "blue baby" disease in infants, and they have also been linked to some cancers
- Increasing use of nitrogen fertilizers release nitrogen
- We can't grow crops or human bodies without nitrogen
B. With the growth of human population, essential resources to life are becoming more and more scarce. One of these essential resources that all humans need is nitrogen. Nitrogen is needed for DNA and RNA, they act as the molecules that store and transfer genetic information. Nitrogen also makes proteins, messengers, catalysts, as well as the structural components of all plants and animal cells. The most important use of nitrogen however is in the nitrogen rich fertilizers that we use to grow our foods. This is where out consumption of nitrogen starts to grow. We need nitrogen to grow our food and since food is in very high demand, so is the nitrogen enriching fertilizers that is used to grow this food. Even when the farmers replace the nitrogen that was taken up in the harvest, the crop residue and animal waste that was used still have low concentrations of nitrogen which means farmers have to used more of it. The way humans even acquire nitrogen is by the food that we eat. Because of the massive amount of nitrogen in soil and water, this causes many problems for the environment from local health to global changes.
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C. After reading this article, I am starting to realize the negative effects that humans can have on the environment. I was reminded of all of the summer homework that I did and it just gave me an even deeper understanding of how much nitrogen is essential to living. I also learned the health risks that nitrogen has on humans and i was very concerned with reading all of the risks consuming nitrogen involves. The over usage of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is starting to affect our way of living. As stated by author Vaclav Smil "High nitrate levels can cause life-threatening methemoglobinemia (“blue baby” disease) in infants, and they have also been linked epidemiologically to some cancers." This problem can be fixed through using artificial fertilizer or just finding alternatives to nitrogen rich fertilizers will lead to more healthier humans and takes away all of these risks that too much nitrate can have on humans.
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