“It’s time to curb global nitrogen pollution,” says Sutton, who led the UNEP study. Improving practices in agriculture — the biggest contributor of nitrogen pollution worldwide — should be a top priority, he says.

“Fertilizer overuse is a common problem, especially in developing countries,” agrees Zhang. In an earlier study, he and his colleagues found that Chinese farmers use an average of around 600 kilograms of nitrogen fertilizers per hectare per year, but that could be cut by up to two-thirds without affecting crop yields.  

Furthermore, says Sutton, “80% of the nitrogen in crops grown globally goes to feed livestock,” says Sutton. Higher consumption of meat and diary products, especially in developed countries, has substantially increased global nitrogen pollution. “Recycling nitrogen from manure and sewage would increase the efficiency of nutrient use, while reducing pollution and improving crop production.”

To make a real difference, he adds, “governments should join forces to better manage the global nitrogen cycle.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on February 20, 2013.

7 Comments

1. 1. Frishy 04:23 AM 2/21/13

   Nothing surprising. They will now have to export their unsustainable practices, since human populations tend to get grumpy when they don't have enough to eat and then governments change...
   
   One child policy's Woman shortage will cause a war, since the burgeoning practice of buying spouses in various countries will not be tolerated...(WOW I War on Women).
   
   Finally, China will need water, at which point Chile and Argentina, both with loads of water in the south, and almost no population there, will lose the WOW II (War on Water).
   
   And that's the 5-15 year outlook.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. bucketofsquid 04:46 PM 2/21/13

   With the one child policy and pollution caused premature deaths and infertility, China may undergo a combined population drop and economy boom. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. sault in reply to bucketofsquid 06:07 PM 2/21/13

   You need people to make an economy grow. A lot of China's growth has come from moving 100s of millions of people from primarily agricultural labor to unskilled / low-skill manufacturing. The health problems and other maladies caused by pollution from their uncoordinated growth cancels out a significant portion of that economic growth every year, although healthcare spending gets lumped in with GDP as well, masking this fact somewhat.
   
   What I'm trying to say is that the unintended consequences of China's rapid growth are unlikely to cause the side benefits you envision. China's labor-intensive manufacturing approach requires massive numbers of people to produce results. Wage growth in China might produce more automation eventually, but odds are the timing of demographic changes due to the one child policy and the increasing health problems caused by pollution are unlikely to unfold in an optimal manner in regards to their economy.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. liu13500 02:44 AM 2/24/13

   As a co-author of the N deposition paper recently published in Nature, I am surprised that so many concerns on China's environmental problems, economic growth styles and even one-child policy were aroused. Yes, the air pollution and deposition of N compounds are heavy in China with rapid economic (GDP) growth since the 1980s. China is still a 'transition' country. I hope the article can help China to have a positive change in the next decade, with various international and national cooperations in both scientific research and policy recommendation.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. clockworkdoorbell 10:51 AM 2/25/13

   Isn't nitrogen a fertiliser? and isn't ammonia alkaline?
   Does this mean that China is using less nitrogen fertiliser, so reducing its carbon footprint etc.?
   Surely the root cause is the miserable way of life they are pushing on their citizens in the name of the Great God Growth, to the benefit of a few in China (and in the West).

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. greenhome123 01:45 PM 2/26/13

   vertical farming, composting, organic fertilizers, solar energy, wind farms, and thorium nuclear power might help reduce nitrogen and other pollutants.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

7. 7. vatang in reply to Frishy 12:45 AM 2/28/13

   bullshit,maybe you should think WOM(war on money)

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this