New+Source+of+Global+Nitrogen+Discovered

New source of global nitrogen discovered

Where it came from/ When: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180405140946.htm Science Daily News Written 4/5/2018 Accessed 4/10/2018

Summary: Nitrogen, being such an important resource for our environment, has been thought to have only been found in the atmosphere and nowhere else. Studies at the University of California, Davis have now found that almost a quarter of the nitrogen we have is sourced for bedrock. This discovery could aid greatly in our efforts to improve climate change by absorbing more fossil fuel CO2 emissions than with atmospheric nitrogen alone.

Relation to APES: The discussions in this article relate a lot to what we find in our textbook about climate change and air pollution (Miller 470). This section talks about how we continue to emit heat-trapping chemicals into our atmosphere which enhance the greenhouse effect and lead to global warming. Along with this, we continue emitting fossil fuels which are polluting the earth. In fact, “ 1.1 billion people - one in every five - live in urban areas where the air is unhealthy to breathe.” (Miller 274) If more nitrogen is able to absorb more pollutants then we can process with our efforts to better the planet.

Your Opinion: In my opinion, this discovery is a much-needed one as our planet could be headed into a state of crisis if we don’t try to stop climate change and air pollution. It is my hope that this isn’t a discovery that we take advantage of and think “Oh well, now that there is nitrogen in bedrock, we don’t have to work as hard to fix human problems that are leading to climate change.” On the other hand, I really hope this prompts people to realize how precious our air quality and climate is and it starts a movement towards treating our planet better.

Environmental Law: An act that has been passed that ties well to this article is the Clean Air Act of 1990. This act is a federal law passed by the United States Congress that attempts to protect humans and the environment from air pollution. The Clean Air Act 1990 was an extension of the 1970 Clean Air Act and it now has set strict regulations and limits on companies and factories. This is relevant as air pollution is becoming such a huge issue and the fact that more nitrogen could be accessed - helping with the air pollution - could be a major factor in terms of environmental legislation.

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