Britain has had a huge impact on the world. I am not talking about the adventures of gunboat diplomacy or the disastrous military adventures of Iraq and Afghanistan.
I’m talking about how our way of life is severely destructive and unsustainable-draining our share of life Resources of three planets When we only had this fragile, badly damaged, one.
recent WWF report Created a worst ranking chart-damaged chart.
limit
Overall, it concluded that the UK needs to reduce its ecological footprint by 60%, material footprint by 38%, biomass footprint by 48%, phosphorus footprint by 85%, and carbon footprint by 85%.
But in the first place-this ranking may surprise many people-is nitrogen, which accounts for 89%.
Earlier this year, a Article in New scientist Calling the world’s mismanagement of the nitrogen cycle “our forgotten environmental crisis”.
The article pointed out that in order to adapt to the planetary limit of the world, we should fix only 62 million tons of nitrogen on land every year: that is process Through microorganisms or human industrial processes, atmospheric nitrogen is converted into nitrogen-containing compounds.
We currently fix at least 300 million tons of nitrogen each year—five times the world can afford.
progress
This is an issue that has received serious attention from international experts in the past 10 years, although the public’s attention is extremely low.
This International Nitrogen Management System Project (INMS) was established by the United Nations ten years ago to do what the IPPC did for carbon emissions and set global targets for nitrogen.
The original idea was to set a goal around the number I just quoted, but I thought it was politically impossible, so I set a goal instead. Global goal Halve nitrogen waste by 2030.
It is worth mentioning that-this is very in line with the needs of farmers-the cost of applying and fixing nitrogen fertilizer is very high.
The efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer use by farmers around the world has dropped from 50% in 1961 to 42% today. We think we are in a state of progress, but we are regressing in terms of efficiency in using nitrogen.
Wildflowers
The efficiency goal is Colombo Declaration, But only 14 countries have signed the agreement-not including the United Kingdom.
I asked the government Written question Are you considering registration? The answer is “will continue to monitor progress.” It can be regarded as “No”. The “world leader” ends here.
We use a lot of nitrogen fertilizer is right Climate emergency.
The global warming potential of nitrous oxide is 298 times that of carbon dioxide, and it exists in the atmosphere for an average of 114 years. The Haber process, which produces artificial nitrogen fertilizer, accounts for 1% of global carbon emissions.
This also means a huge ocean dead zone and a lot of Air pollution. This in turn has a major impact on human health. And harm our ecosystem, leading to the disappearance of many wild flowers, fungi and lichens.
shit
This further means Soil acidification And the problem of ozone depletion and alkaline air, which cause huge damage by eroding the ozone layer-this is what we know Decades.
The effect on soil structure has only recently been understood.
In healthy soils with low nitrogen content, microorganisms do not metabolize carbon compounds, but instead metabolize carbon compounds Excrete them as polymers They act as glue that holds the soil together, and there are spaces between the “clumps” through which air, water, roots and hyphae can move.
Without glue, there will be more compaction, loss of fertility and more flooding.
The problem of nitrogen does not just come from artificial fertilizers. This is another problem of factory farming-the concentration of animals, and the waste that comes with it, leads to unmanageable piles up-let’s get it straight-shit.
Agricultural ecology
Northern Ireland is Particularly affected British country, While in Herefordshire, England, it may be Worst hotspot.
“But without chemical fertilizers and factory farms, how can we feed ourselves?” People will ask. Hmm: This is both a challenge and an opportunity.
We are now beginning to understand how to support ourselves in the UK. Communities all over the world know how to feed themselves in a better and healthier way than we do now.
The fact is that we live in a poor and hungry society, where farmers’ labor is hardly rewarded, while a few multinational seed, chemical, manufacturing, and supermarket companies make a fortune.
We can better feed ourselves by Work with nature -“Agricultural ecology” in jargon.
soil
We already know how to use the natural systems of fungi, bacteria, and plants to regenerate them instead of destroying them.
We know we shouldn’t Waste the food we grow by feeding animals. We must feed ourselves by eating more vegetables and fruits-eating less meat.
This will come from healthy, prosperous soils, farms that support wildlife, help prevent floods, and restore the nitrogen cycle to a healthy place.
As with many other environmental issues, there is no time to waste on the environment or the system. INMS’s funding is only until next year. Our soil, our air, our climate cannot wait to act.
This author
Natalie Bennet is a member of the Green Party and a member of the House of Lords.
