Fortune (June 22)
“The U.S. farm economy has been fighting one battle after another in recent years, but a new threat is on the horizon that evokes memories of one of the worst agricultural disasters ever.” U.S. farmers were left reeling from low prices, tariffs and most recently Trump’s Iran War, which sent the prices for fertilizer and fuel soaring. Bankruptcies have been rising and now they may face the existential “risk of a ‘mini-Dust Bowl’ as a rare Super El Niño looms.”
Tags: Agricultural disasters, Bankruptcies, Existential, Farm economy, Farmers, Fertilizer, Fuel, Iran war, Low prices, Mini-Dust Bowl, Reeling, Risk, Super El Niño, Tariffs, Threat, Trump, U.S.
The Guardian (April 10)
CO2 emissions grab most the attention, but a study by the European Nitrogen Assessment indicates “nitrogen pollution costs every person in Europe €650 a year in damage to water, climate, health and wildlife.” Some of this damage comes from nitrogen used as fertilizer, but approximately “60% of the costs of nitrogen damage stem from fossil fuels burned for energy generation and transport.”
Tags: Fertilizer, Fossil fuels, Nitrogen, Pollution
