Title:
Next Step After Carbon: Knowing Your Nitrogen
Footprint
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide
pollution that we produce as a result of activities.
Some people try to reduce their carbon footprint
because they are concerned about climate change.
Now, researchers have a way for people to measure
how much nitrogen pollution they produce -- their
nitrogen footprint. All plants and animals need
nitrogen. Nitrogen is a major element in the
proteins in our bodies. The atmosphere is mostly
nitrogen. In the early twentieth century, scientists
learned how to take nitrogen out of the air and make
it into a form that plants could use. University of
Virginia professor Jim Galloway calls synthetic
nitrogen fertilizer a "wonderful invention" because
it increased food production. But he says many parts
of the world use too much nitrogen fertilizer, and
that harms the environment. He says the effects
include air pollution, acid rain, loss of
biodiversity, coastal "dead zones" and global
warming. So Professor Galloway and other researchers
have developed a nitrogen footprint calculator. This
Web-based tool asks people about the foods they eat
and questions like how much they fly and drive and
how big a house they live in. Researchers say the
average American produces forty-two kilograms of
nitrogen pollution a year. Some of that comes from
fossil fuels like oil and coal. But more than
seventy percent involves food. University of
Virginia researcher Allison Leach says Americans eat
almost twice as much protein as the government
recommends. She says eating only the recommended
levels could reduce nitrogen footprints by almost
half. Professor Galloway says animal protein plays a
big part. He points to the example of cattle that
are given feed grown with nitrogen fertilizer. "For
large animals like beef, a very large fraction of
the nitrogen that enters the cow's mouth is excreted
out the back end," he says.Last year, a study
supported by American beef producers found that
their industry's environmental impact has decreased
over the past thirty years. Jude Capper at
Washington State University reported that by
producing more beef from fewer animals, the industry
cut its carbon footprint by eighteen percent. The
nitrogen calculator is currently designed for people
in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
Another online calculator will be designed for
India.For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.
For more ways to learn American English and stay
informed every day, go to voaspecialenglish.com from
your computer or mobile device.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
