Farms outweigh all other human sources of fine-particulate air pollution in much of the United States, Europe, Russia and China, says a study by the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Fumes from fertilizer and animal waste combine with industrial emission to form solid particles, “a huge source of disease and death,” says Columbia.
“The good news: If industrial emissions decline in coming decades, as most projections say, fine-particle emissions will go down even if fertilizer use doubles as expected,” said Columbia. The study suggests food production could expand without adversely affecting air quality. Lead author of the study, atmospheric scientist Susanne Bauer, said, “We expect population to go up and to produce more food, we will need more fertilizer.”