A lot has changed in the biotech industry over the last thirty or forty years. Those who can look back on a long career in the field, such as Diane Fabel, note that there are also some things that have remained the same, including “the passion of the faculty and the entrepreneurs to get that technology to market, even though it’s become very clear how daunting the task is and how many hundreds of millions of dollars it takes and 95% failure rates.”
Plants need nitrogen to grow, but a significant portion of the nitrogen in fertilizers is not absorbed by the soil or used by the growing plants. Rather, it washes away into waterways, rivers, and the ocean. This in turn has had devastating effects on marine life. In some areas, excessive nitrogen in the oceans has caused algae blooms that kill wildlife, make it dangerous for people to consume fish or shellfish or in some cases even swim in affected waters. This problem isn’t limited to poorer countries. Nitrogen pollution is a serious problem here on Long Island. In our case, the nitrogen comes primarily from septic tanks and cesspools, although nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers also plays a role. Nitrogen pollution in the waters around Long Island has hampered fishing, made it dangerous to eat seafood from some areas, and caused environmental changes that make coastal areas more prone to flooding.