Shawn’s Reviews > Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production > Status Update

“eutrophication…deoxygenate water and hence seriously affect or kill aquatic species, particularly the bottom dwellers (shellfish, molluscs).” (192)

pleasantly surprised & relieved that this ain’t so difficult to read. for such an academic subject it’s written well, not too cumbersome w/the chem, it’s a solid balance so far between layman readership & academic scholarship. it details how ammonia was synthesized, the apparatus used, how metals were used as catalysts, how the temp had to be exact, breakthroughs, etc

really fascinating, I keep using this word but it's apt: one sees the history of human civilization thru this lens of agronomy. he mentions Chile, how the seabirds dropped useful, rich guano, and the arid climate kept made the guano that much better, so much so that they exported it for the use of 1) making nitrogen for explosives, 2) fertilizer to sustain agriculture, & food production. Chile, thus, a big exporter.

pretty fascinating, reading all about manure! all that nasty stuff is discussed at depth as the most precious stuff on earth. who can object? it talks about all the stuff that we humans pay no mind or attention to, that we, indeed, turn away from & cover our noses: the wastes of farm animals, the detritus of flora, all the discarded stuff is treasured and highly prized in this reading...

really glad to be reading this...Mr. Nitrogen, I gotchu.