ナショナルジオグラフィックのインスタグラム(natgeo) - 11月19日 07時15分

Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Photo by @peteressick on assignment for @ナショナルジオグラフィック. Just about a hundred years ago, two German scientists, Fritz Habor and Carl Bosch discovered how to make synthetic nitrogen from the atmosphere. The process involves heating air under pressure over a hydrogen catalyst to make ammonia. This all takes tremendous amounts of energy, and during the production carbon dioxide is released as a by-product, warming the atmosphere. However, this invention has made modern large scale agriculture possible. It is estimated that without synthetic nitrogen, it wouldn't be possible to feed 40 percent of the world's population. This fertilizer plant in Nigeria is unique - the only one in Sub-Saharan Africa - and stands at the center of the debate about how Africa should develop agriculturally. The people who run the plant are Nigerians who believe strongly that their country has the resources to help the rest of Africa. The plant is powered by natural gas, which Nigeria has in abundance in the Niger Delta. Most of the natural gas that is recovered with the oil in the delta is just flared off because Nigeria doesn't have the pipelines to transport it. It has been calculated that if Nigeria could use this natural gas that is now being wasted to make fertilizer, they could theoretically feed all of Africa. No more famines, no more foreign aid, just Africans feeding Africans the way the industrialized world does with all the benefits (and problems, too). So when I look at this photo part of me wishes that Africa would stay away from industrialized agriculture and develop along the lines of permaculture, native nitrogen-fixing plants, community and urban gardens and the like. But if I am honest, I also realize that I like living in a larger city where I can go to a supermarket full of fresh food and dine in a nice urban restaurant. Perhaps in the future we in the West will switch to a more environmentally friendly way of producing food, but right now to live and eat the way I enjoy requires synthetic nitrogen. So who can fault our brothers and sisters in Africa for wanting to live the good life, too?

[BIHAKUEN]UVシールド(UVShield)

>> 飲む日焼け止め！「UVシールド」を購入する