Location
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Start Date
1-5-2014 10:00 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 11:00 AM
Project Type
Poster
Description
Human activities that add nitrogen to the environment are dramatically affecting the nitrogen cycle. Advancements in the production of reactive nitrogen in the 1950s rapidly increased the production of nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural food production, a significant source of nitrogen in the cycle. Increased crop yields have been tied to the rapidly ascending human population and associated environmental impacts, and the alteration of the nitrogen cycle itself is associated with documented environmental detriment. A review of the history of ascending anthropogenic nitrogen production in agricultural and industrial processes also reveals its role in negatively altering greenhouse gas levels, spreading infectious diseases, and promoting global inequalities. Documented illnesses associated with nitrogen-polluted water supplies, evidence of increased infectious disease in subtropical and tropical climates stemming from anthropogenic nitrogen, data the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has assembled, and the 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Plan in Texas are reviewed and demonstrate nitrogens effect on public health.
Faculty Sponsor
Russ Cole
Sponsoring Department
Colby College. Environmental Studies Program
CLAS Field of Study
Interdisciplinary Studies
Event Website
http://www.colby.edu/clas
ID
781
Included in
The Effects of Anthropogenic Nitrogen on Public Health
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Human activities that add nitrogen to the environment are dramatically affecting the nitrogen cycle. Advancements in the production of reactive nitrogen in the 1950s rapidly increased the production of nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural food production, a significant source of nitrogen in the cycle. Increased crop yields have been tied to the rapidly ascending human population and associated environmental impacts, and the alteration of the nitrogen cycle itself is associated with documented environmental detriment. A review of the history of ascending anthropogenic nitrogen production in agricultural and industrial processes also reveals its role in negatively altering greenhouse gas levels, spreading infectious diseases, and promoting global inequalities. Documented illnesses associated with nitrogen-polluted water supplies, evidence of increased infectious disease in subtropical and tropical climates stemming from anthropogenic nitrogen, data the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has assembled, and the 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Plan in Texas are reviewed and demonstrate nitrogens effect on public health.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2014/program/173