prev next front |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 |17 |18 |19 |20 |21 |review

And there were a few other developments in the 19th and early 20th century that Malthus didn’t envision. Particularly important was the invention and development by these two men, Haber and Bosch, of a process to convert atmospheric nitrogen to forms that plants can use – we call it fertilizer.  This is now done in huge plants around the world, but it is energy-intensive, so the cost of fertilizer is tied to the cost of energy.

 

 

 

 

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=11308&rendTypeId=4

 

www.eoearth.org/media/approved/e/e6/Bosch.jpg

 

vn.schmidt-clemens.de/vnoffice/data/0/0/0/227...