Synthetic Fertilizers Created Dead Zones in the Ocean

The Haber-Bosch process, developed in the early 20th century, allows the industrial production of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. This invention enabled the mass production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers that have helped feed billions of people by dramatically increasing crop yields. However, the excess nitrogen from agricultural runoff has created massive environmental problems. When fertilizer washes into rivers and eventually the ocean, it causes algae blooms that consume all available oxygen when they decompose. This creates dead zones where fish and other marine life cannot survive. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, fed by fertilizer runoff from the Midwest, grows to the size of New Jersey every summer. There are now over 400 dead zones worldwide.