Negative effects of nitrogen-based fertilizer

It has been calculated that more 2 billion people today survive because of the use of synthetic fertilizers. This is a staggering number because the availability of synthetic fertilizers relies on a non-renewable, cheap energy resource that continues to shrink every year. By the year 2050 the world’s population is projected to increase by 2 billion. A population increase of some 2 billion (or more) people would be made possible solely through the exploitation of cheap energy to manufacture synthetic nitrogen-based fertilizers. This would create even more stress on an agricultural system relying on ever-increasing amounts of synthetic fertilizer. This population increase simply would not be possible without the use of synthetic fertilizers. It is very likely that the availability of synthetic fertilizers will decrease over the next century and if sustainable farming practices, which rely less on cheap energy and petroleum-based fertilizer, are not already in place there will be food riots and war on a global scale. The prospect for a type of scenario like this is very real and if these shortcomings are not addressed before it is too late, there will be catastrophic consequences on an unimaginable scale.