How we are addicted to artificial fertilizers and what to do about it
“What is the most important invention of the twentieth century? Aeroplanes, nuclear energy, space flight, television and computers will be the most common answers. Yet none of these can match the synthesis of ammonia from its elements. The world might be better off without Microsoft and CNN, and neither nuclear reactors nor space shuttles are critical to human well-being. But the world’s population could not have grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to today’s seven billion without the Haber–Bosch process. Much of the food we eat is grown with some form of synthetic chemical fertilizer derived from the Haber-Bosch process. Due to its dramatic impact on the human ability to grow food, the Haber process served as the ‘detonator of the population explosion.’ ” This is the prognosis of the distinguished Czech-Canadian scientist, policy analyst, professor, and scientist Vaclav Smil. (1)
Smil has published 35 books and more than 400 papers on topics in the fields of energy, food production, nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment and public policy. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy), and a Member of the Order of Canada; in 2010 he was listed by Foreign Policy among the top 100 global thinkers.
