[careinke]

There is more to it than such. More details can be found in the article.

IMO the article was poorly researched and written. YMMV.

Yes artificial fertilizer changed the productivity of the soil, but as Sparky points out it is the least abundant essential ingredient that sets the bar on production, and Ammonia has been cheap for a very long time and will continue to be cheap so long as we have moderate technology to work with. The initial device was built in 1909 and made industrial scale in under 4 years with what would now be considered very low level technology. Cutting edge in 1913 consists of items you could order from any industrial supplier in 2013 as old school standardized units.

Peeing on your perennials is a pretty cheap way to add nitrogen.

[ralfy]

IMO the article was poorly researched and written. YMMV.

Yes artificial fertilizer changed the productivity of the soil, but as Sparky points out it is the least abundant essential ingredient that sets the bar on production, and Ammonia has been cheap for a very long time and will continue to be cheap so long as we have moderate technology to work with. The initial device was built in 1909 and made industrial scale in under 4 years with what would now be considered very low level technology. Cutting edge in 1913 consists of items you could order from any industrial supplier in 2013 as old school standardized units.

What you wrote was discussed in the article, and is only one point in this issue.

To see the other points, read the article.