The problem isn’t with Haber’s ammonia, but more with how it’s made (using extraordinary amounts of fossil fuels), and what it does to the environment. In short, all those beautiful soil bugs that we met in earlier chapters tend to get turned off by nitrogen in artificial fertiliser. A big fat injection of Haber’s nitrogen, if it doesn’t kill the microbes, certainly makes for a lazy subterranean ecosystem. And just like a sugar rush for a human, there’s a post-nitrogen slump. The quickest, easiest way to get over the slump is to add more nitrogen. But it’s a losing game.
