Missing the great nitrogen scare of 1970

Reason enough to be sceptical about any made today.   Remember how we are always being told we only have five or ten years to turn things around, otherwise it's disaster for us?   Again and again and again?   Here's a one of the predictions made almost 40 years ago for the first Earth Day:   “We have about five more years at the outside to do something.” • Kenneth Watt, ecologist   Some gave us a little more time:   “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.” • George Wald, Harvard Biologist   Perceptive people might note that these two are just a bit, um, what's the word? - wrong.   As was this:   “It is already too late to avoid mass starvation,” • Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day   There are a few from one of my favourite nutcases, Paul Ehrlich.   But this one is interesting in our current carbon obsessed times:   “At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it’s only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable.” • Kenneth Watt, Ecologist   Nitrogen? Apparently I missed the great nitrogen scare of 1970!   More here   Thanks to Spiked Online http://twitter.com/spikedonline

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