An Examination of the External Costs of Nitrogen in Agriculture
No hay miniatura disponible
Fecha
Autores
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Descripción
The overuse of nitrogen fertilizer primarily by large scale agriculture has polluted streams
and lakes, and, in turn, coastal waters around the world. One consequence is the
contamination of drinking water sources relied on by millions of consumers.
Nitrogen is toxic to human health. Clean Water Act regulations require that drinking
water supplied by public utilities contain less than 10 ppm of nitrogen. Water utilities in
regions with high nitrogen concentrations must install expensive treatment systems to
meet the nitrogen limit. This necessity creates an externality from agricultural
production.
This poster seeks to estimate the cost to utilities of abating nitrogen coming from
agriculture.