A five year study in Europe determined that the costs of using nitrogen fertilizers significantly outweigh the benefits, costing billions of dollars worth of damage.
Nitrogen pollution costs Europe between 70 and 320 billion euros ($100bn-$460bn) per year in its impact on health and the environment, according to a major European study launched in Britain on Monday.
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The first European Nitrogen Assessment, the result of a five-year research programme, found that the costs represented more than double the benefits for the continent’s agriculture sector.
The ENA was to be launched Monday at a five-day international conference in Edinburgh.
The study was carried out by 200 experts from 21 countries and 89 organisations, who came up with recommendations on how to reduce the amount of nitrogen in water, the air, the earth and ecosystems.
The solutions, as you might expect, involve going back to more traditional and effective ways of fertilizing the soil. Nitrogen pollution, especially when it enters rivers as runoff, is particularly nasty.
