Web Sites Natural Resources Canada Canadian Minerals Yearbook, 1994: Niobium http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/smm-mms/busi-indu/cmy- amc/content/1994/43.pdf U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Information: Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum Statistics and Information http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/ commodity/niobium/ See also: Alloys; Igneous processes, rocks, and min- eral deposits; Minerals, structure and physical proper- ties of; Nuclear energy; Pegmatites; Placer deposits; Steel; Tantalum. Nitrogen and ammonia Category: Mineral and other nonliving resources Where Found Nitrogen gas (N 2 ) constitutes 78 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere. There are deposits of potassium nitrate in India and of sodium nitrate in Chile, but nitrogen ranks only thirty-third among the elements in crustal abundance, with an average concentration of 0.03 per- cent by weight. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal con- tain nitrogen, and all plants and animals contain nitrogen in the form of proteins. The human body is about 3 percent nitrogen by weight. Ammonia occurs as ammonium chloride salt in volcanic ejecta, but industrially produced ammonia is the predominant form used. Ammonia from sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial activities can be a water pollutant. Primary Uses The largest use of nitrogen compounds—urea, am- monium nitrate, ammonium phosphates, nitric acid, and ammonium sulfate—is in fertilizer for crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans. Nitrogen gas is used as a protective gas in the food, electronics, and metals in- dustries. Although fertilizer uses are predominant, ammonia is also used as a refrigerant and as a chemical interme- diate in the manufacture of nitric acid, nitrogen- containing plastics and fibers (polyamides, polyacry - lonitrile, and polyurethane), and explosives. Technical Definition Nitrogen (symbol N), atomic number 7, belongs to Group 15oftheperiodictableoftheelements.Theel- ement has two naturally occurring isotopes and an atomic weight of 14.007. Nitrogen occurs as a color- less, odorless gas weighing 1.25 grams per liter (0.0° Celsius and 1 atmosphere pressure). Liquid nitrogen is a colorless liquid boiling at −195.8° Celsius and freezing to a colorless solid at −210° Celsius. Gaseous, liquid, and solid nitrogen all consist of diatomic (N 2 ) “dinitrogen” molecules. Ammonia (NH 3 ) is a pungent, toxic gas, weighing 0.76 gram per liter (0.0° Celsius and 1 atmosphere pressure).Liquidammoniaboilsat−33.4°Celsiusand freezes at −78° Celsius. Ammonia is soluble in water to the extent of 28 percent by weight, and it forms explo- sive mixtures with air. Description, Distribution, and Forms Nitrogen resources in the atmosphere amount to 4 × 10 21 grams of N 2 , a virtually inexhaustible supply. Ni- trogen generally ranks second among all chemicals produced in the United States. Ammonia ranks sixth. Nitrogen from the atmosphere must undergo “fixa- tion” (conversion to ammonia or oxy compounds) before it is available for plant nutrition. Fixation of nitrogen occurs in the atmosphere during fires or thunderstorms, when temperatures rise enough to make nitrogen and oxygen react. In the soil, nitrogen fixation occurs with the mediation of an enzyme, nitrogenase, present in Rhizobium bacteria that live in the root nodules of peas, clover, and alfalfa. Industrial production of ammonia by the high-pressure, cata- lyzed reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen (the Haber- Bosch process) probably accounts for less than half of all nitrogen fixation. Fixed nitrogen ultimately re- turns to the atmosphere through decay of plants and animals and the action of denitrifying bacteria. This process is called the nitrogen cycle. The world’s growing population of both humans and cattle creates increasing demand for the fixed ni- trogen that goes into fertilizer and animal feed. Am- monia plants have been built worldwide to meet this need. Worldwide, approximatley 136 million metric tons of ammonia were produced in 2008. Nitrogen oxides (“NOx” compounds) produced when fuels burn in air are toxic and contribute to acid rain, since they react with water to produce nitric acid. Nitrates and nitrites from agricultural runoff fertilize the growth of algae in lakes and streams (causing eu - 818 • Nitrogen and ammonia Global Resources Global Resources Nitrogen and ammonia • 819 Data from the U.S. Geological Survey, . U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009.Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2009 1,900,000 1,800,000 1,300,000 11,000,000 2,500,000 5,100,000 4,200,000 8,240,000 22,000,000 Metric Tons 50,000,00040,000,00030,000,00020,000,00010,000,000 United States Saudi Arabia Russia Romania Qatar Poland Trinidad and Tobago Ukraine Other countries 44,600,000 1,900,000 2,800,000 11,000,000 4,400,000 2,000,000 1,360,000 1,800,000 2,250,000 Netherlands Indonesia India Germany Egypt China Iran Japan Pakistan 1,300,000 4,100,000Canada Bangladesh Ammonia: World Production, 2009 trophication); the increase in nitrogen runoff from fertilizers contributes, for example, to the summer hypoxic (oxygen-deficient) zone in the Gulf of Mex- ico. Drinking water containing nitrate interferes with red blood cells, causing methemoglobinemia in in- fants. Federal drinking water standards require that there be less than 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter of water. Nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere contribute to photochemical smog and catalyze the destruction of stratospheric ozone. Photochemical smog is associ- ated with automobile exhaust: the unburned hydro- carbons and nitrogen oxides are acted on by sunlight. A particularly irritating substance called peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) can form. The federal clean air amend- ments contain a limit on the allowable concentration of nitrogen oxides of only 0.05 part per million, an- nual arithmetic mean. Nitrogen oxides that reach the stratosphere can cause destruction of ozone by a catalytic process. Su- personic aircraft flying in the stratosphere would emit nitrogen oxides and reduce the concentration of ozone. This in turn might result in a harmful increase in the flux of ultraviolet radiation at the surface of the Earth, since the ozone that absorbs ultraviolet light exerts a protective effect. Atmospheric chemistry is very complex, and there are many other gases that interact with ozone. Another nitrogen oxide, nitrous oxide, or dini- trogen oxide (N 2 O), is emitted by certain industrial processes. Although it is less toxic than other oxides of nitrogen and is odorless, it does absorb infrared radiation and may contribute to global warming (the “greenhouse effect”). Nitrous oxide also enters the at- mosphereastheresult of microbialactioninthesoil. Ammonia is toxic, with a maximum allowable con- centration in the workplace of 50 parts per million in air. Air pollution by ammonia is rare except in cases of accidental release. Because ammonia is extensively transported by truck and pipeline, there are occa- sional releases, necessitating evacuation of the sur- rounding area. Since it is less dense than air and is sol- uble in water, ammonia tends to dissipate rapidly after a spill. Humans obtain most of their nitrogen from the pro- teins in meat, milk, or legumes. The recommended daily allowance of protein for an adult male is 50 to 70 grams, and protein deficiency results in a debilitating condition called kwashiorkor, suffered mainly by chil - dren in underdeveloped countries in Africa. History Nitrogen was isolated about 1770 by Daniel Ruther- ford, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and Henry Cavendish. Ammonia was isolated by Joseph Priestley in 1774. He prepared the gas by heating ammonium chloride with lime, and he used a pneumatic trough filled with mer- cury to collect the gas. In 1862, Justus von Liebig sug- gested that nitrogen is essential for plant nutrition and theorized that plants obtain it from the atmo- sphere; however, the details of microbial nitrogen fix- ation were not clear until much later. Obtaining Nitrogen and Ammonia The commercial production of nitrogen became pos- sible after the development of the Lindé process for liquefaction of air in 1895. Nitrogen is separated from the other elements in liquid air by fractional distilla- tion, selective adsorption on zeolites, or membrane technology. Large-scale production of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen (the Haber-Bosch process) began in Ger- many in 1913. Fritz Haber had developed the ammo- nia synthesis onasmallscale,andhedemonstrateditto management at I. G. Farben, the giant German chem- ical company. Carl Bosch led the team that designed the first ammonia plant, inventing the technology of high-pressure hydrogen reactions in the process. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to both Haber (1918) and Bosch (1931) for their achievements. Nitrogen and hydrogen react at 400° to 550° Cel- sius and 100 to 1,000 atmospheres pressure in the presence of anironcatalyst.Thehydrogen is obtained by reacting steam with natural gas over a nickel cata- lyst (“steam reforming”), and energy requirements are about 25 million British thermal units (Btus) per ton of ammonia. The gaseous reactants used must be purified to free them of substances that might inter- fere with the action of the catalyst. The cost of feedstock accounts for more than half the cost of producing ammonia. Ammonia prices are sensitive to the cost of energy and of natural gas. There is a futures market in liquid ammonia that helps users hedge against possible price increases. Minor amounts of ammonia are recovered from coke- oven gases, usually directly converted to ammonium sulfate by reaction with sulfuric acid. Uses of Nitrogen As previously mentioned, nitrogen gas, because of its low chemical reactivity, is used to protect foods, phar - 820 • Nitrogen and ammonia Global Resources maceuticals, electronic parts, and hot metal surfaces from damage by oxygen or other reactive gases. Liq- uid nitrogen is used to freezebiologicalsamples(such as blood and semen) and foods, and to solidify rub- bery materials that need to be pulverized or ground up. Nitrogen gas also inflates the air bags in automo- biles, being evolved from sodium azide in a rapid exo- thermic reaction triggered by a collision. Although most ammonia isusedinfertilizers, some is used as a chemical intermediate to make other ni- trogen compounds. Mixtures of ammonia and air, passed over a platinum/rhodium catalyst at around 500° Celsius, produce oxides of nitrogen that com- bine with water to produce nitric acid. Mixturesofam- monia and methane can be catalytically oxidized to make hydrogen cyanide, and with propene in place of methane, acrylonitrile can be produced. Explosives such as gunpowder, nitroglycerin, and dynamite (tri- nitrotoluene, TNT) require nitric acid for their man- ufacture. Hydrogen cyanide is used in making sodium cyanide for the mining industry and methyl methac- rylate, the precursor of Plexiglas, while acrylonitrile is used to make polyacrylonitrile synthetic fibers for clothing and carpets. A host of other synthetic compounds, including many dyes and pharmaceuticals, derive their nitrogen content from nitric acid or ammonia. Two examples are synthetic indigo, used to dye blue jeans, and acet- aminophen, an over-the-counter headache remedy. John R. Phillips Further Reading Büchner, W., et al. Industrial Inorganic Chemistry. Translated by David R. Terrell. New York: VCH, 1989. Degobert, Paul. Automobiles and Pollution. Translated by Nissim Marshall. Warrendale, Pa.: Society of Au- tomotive Engineers, 1995. Greenwood, N. N., and A. Earnshaw. “Nitrogen.” In Chemistry of the Elements. 2d ed. Boston: Butter- worth-Heinemann, 1997. Hatfield, J. L.,andR.F.Follett, eds. Nitrogen in the Envi- ronment: Sources, Problems, and Management. 2d ed. Boston: Academic Press/Elsevier, 2008. Henderson, William. “The Group 15 (Pnictogen) Ele- ments: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, and Bismuth.” In Main Group Chemistry. Cam- bridge, England: RoyalSocietyofChemistry, 2000. Kogel, Jessica Elzea, et al., eds. “Nitrogen and Ni - trates.” In Industrial Minerals and Rocks: Commodi - ties, Markets, and Uses. 7th ed. Littleton, Colo.: Soci - ety for Mining,Metallurgy,andExploration,2006. Leigh, G. J. The World’s Greatest Fix: A History of Nitrogen and Agriculture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Mosier, Arvin, J. Keith Syers, and John R. Freney, eds. Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environ- ment. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2004. Schepers, J. S., and W. R. Raun, eds. Nitrogen in Agricul- tural Systems. Madison, Wis.: American Society of Agronomy, 2008. Zubay, Geoffrey. Biochemistry. 4th ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1998. Web Sites Universal Industrial Gases, Inc. Nitrogen (N 2 ) Properties, Uses and Applications: Nitrogen Gas and Liquid Nitrogen http://www.uigi.com/nitrogen.html U.S. Geological Survey Nitrogen: Statistics and Information http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/ commodity/nitrogen See also: Agriculture industry; Atmosphere; Eutro- phication; Fertilizers; Guano; Haber-Bosch process; Nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen cycle Category: Geological processes and formations Nitrogen (N) is one of the most dynamic elements in the Earth’s biosphere; it undergoes transformations that constantly convert it between organic, inorganic, gas- eous, and mineral forms. Nitrogen is an essential ele- ment in all living things, where it is a crucial compo- nent of organic molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Background Nitrogen is in high demand in biological systems. However, most nitrogen is not readily available to plants and animals. Although the biosphere contains 300,000 terrograms (billion kilograms) of nitrogen, that amount is far less nitrogen than is in the hy - Global Resources Nitrogen cycle • 821 drosphere (23 million terrograms) and much less ni - trogen than is in the atmosphere (about 4 billion terrograms). Atmospheric nitrogen is almost all in the form of nitrogen gas (N 2 ), which composes78per- cent of the atmosphere by volume. The greatest reser- voir of nitrogen on Earth is the lithosphere (164 bil- lion terrograms). Here the nitrogen is bound up in rocks, minerals, and deep-ocean sediments. Even though living things exist in a “sea” of nitro- gen gas, it does them little good. The bond between the nitrogen atoms is so strong that nitrogen gas is rel- atively inert. For living things to use nitrogen gas, it must first be converted to an organic or an inorganic form. The nitrogen cycle is the collection of pro- cesses, most of them driven by microbial activity, that convert nitrogen gas into these usable forms and later return nitrogen gas back to the atmosphere. It is considered a cycle because every nitrogen atom can ultimately be converted by each process, though that conversion may take a long time. It is estimated, for example, that the average nitrogen molecule spends 625 years in the biosphere before returning to the atmosphere to complete the cycle. Nitrogen Fixation The first step in the nitrogen cycle is nitrogen fixa- tion. Nitrogen fixation is the conversion, by bacteria, of nitrogen gas into ammonium (NH 4 + ) and then organic nitrogen (proteins, nucleic acids, and other nitrogen-containing compounds). It is estimated that biological nitrogen fixation adds about 160 billion ki- lograms of nitrogen to the biosphere each year. This represents about half of the nitrogen taken up by plants and animals. The microorganisms that carry out nitrogen fixation are highly specialized. Each one carries a special enzyme complex, called nitrogenase, that allows it to carry out fixation at temperatures and pressures capable of permitting life, something indus- trial nitrogen fixation does not allow. Nitrogen-fixing microbes may either be free-living or grow in association with higher organisms such as legumes (in which case the process is called symbi- otic nitrogen fixation). Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is an important process and is one reason legumes are so highly valued as a natural resource. Because they are able to form these symbiotic associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, legumes can produce seeds and leaves with more nitrogen than other plants. When they die, they return much of that nitrogen to soil, enriching it for future growth. Mineralization and Nitrification When plants and animals die they undergo a process called mineralization (also called ammonification). In this stage of the nitrogen cycle, the organic nitro- gen in decomposing tissue is converted back into am- monium. Some of the ammonium is taken up by plants as they grow. This process is called assimilation or uptake. Some of the ammonium is taken up by mi- crobes in the soil. In this case the nitrogen is not avail- able for plant growth. If this happens, it is said that the nitrogen is immobilized. Some nitrogen is also incor- porated into the clay minerals of soil. In this case it is said that the nitrogen is fixed—it is not immediately available for plant and microbial growth, but it may become available at a later date. Ammonium has another potential fate, and this step in the nitrogen cycle is nitrification. In nitrifica- tion the ammonium in soil is oxidized by bacteria (and some fungi) to nitrate (NO 3 − ) in a two-step pro- cess. First, ammonium is oxidized to nitrite. Next, 822 • Nitrogen cycle Global Resources Nitrogen in atmosphere Nitrates in the soil Protein in plants Protein in animals Nitrites Death and decomposition Death and decomposition Nitrification Nitrifying bacteria Uptake by roots Nitrogen fixation Denitrification by bacteria Feeding Ammonia The Nitrogen Cycle nitrite is rapidly oxidized to nitrate. Nitrification re - quires oxygen, so it occurs only in well-aerated envi- ronments. The nitrate that forms during nitrification can also be taken up byplantsandmicrobes.However, unlike ammonium, which is a cation and readily ad- sorbed by soil, nitrate is an anion and readily leaches or runs off of soil. Hence, nitrate is a serious water contaminant in areas where excessive fertilization or manure application occurs. Denitrification Obviously some process is responsible for returning ni- trogen to the atmosphere; otherwise organic and in- organic nitrogen forms would accumulate in the envi- ronment. The process that completes the nitrogen cycle and replenishes the nitrogen gas is denitrifica- tion. Denitrification is a bacterial process that occurs in anaerobic or oxygen-limited environments (water- logged soil or sediment, for example). Nitrate and ni- trite are reduced by denitrifying bacteria which can use these nitrogen oxides in place of oxygen for their metabolism. Wetlands are particularly important in this process because at least half of the denitrification that occurs in the biosphere occurs in wetlands. The major product of denitrification is nitrogen gas, which returns to the atmosphere and approxi- mately balances the amount of nitrogen gas that is biologically fixed each year. In some cases, however, an intermediate gas, nitrous oxide (N 2 O), accumu- lates. Nitrous oxide has serious environmental conse- quences. Like carbon dioxide, it absorbs infrared radiation, so it contributes to global warming. More important, when nitrous oxide rises to the strato- sphere, it contributes to the catalytic destruction of the ozone layer. Besides the potential for fertilizer nitrogen to contribute to nitrate contamination of groundwater, there is the concern that some of it can be denitrified and contribute to ozone destruction. The nitrogen cycle is a global cycle involving land, sea, and air. It circulates nitrogen through various forms that contribute to life on Earth. When the cycle is disturbed—as when an area is deforested and nitro- gen uptake into trees is stopped, or when excessive fertilization is used—nitrogen can become an envi- ronmental problem. Mark S. Coyne Further Reading Chapin, F. Stuart, III, Pamela A. Matson, and Harold A. Mooney. “Internal Cycling of Nitrogen.” In Prin - ciples of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. New York: Springer, 2002. Jacobson, Michael C., et al. Earth System Science: From Biogeochemical Cycles to Global Change. 2d ed. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, 2000. Mosier, Arvin, J. Keith Syers, and John R. Freney, eds. Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environ- ment. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2004. Nieder, R., and D. K. Benbi. Carbon and Nitrogen in the Terrestrial Environment. Dordrecht, the Nether- lands: Springer, 2008. Schlesinger, William H. Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change. 2d ed. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, 1997. Sigel, Astrid, Helmut Sigel, and Roland K. O. Sigel, eds. Biogeochemical Cycles of Elements. Boca Raton, Fla.: Taylor & Francis, 2005. Sprent, Janet I. The Ecology of the Nitrogen Cycle. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987. See also: Atmosphere; Deforestation; Eutrophica- tion; Haber-Bosch process; Nitrogen and ammonia; Soil; Soil testing and analysis; Wetlands. Nobel, Alfred Category: People Born: October 21, 1833; Stockholm, Sweden Died: December 10, 1896; San Remo, Italy Nobel was the inventor of dynamite, blasting gelatin, and ballistite and their detonators, all of which revolu- tionized and expanded the scope of engineering proj- ects through facilitating controlled and safe explo- sions. Biographical Background Born in Sweden to an ambitious family involved with the arms industry, Alfred Bernhard Nobel was edu- cated by tutors and moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where his father owned and operated a factory that produced armaments for the Russian government. After the Russian defeat in the Crimean War (1853- 1856), the business went bankrupt. During the 1840’s and 1850’s, Nobel traveled to France and the United States, where he worked and studied with leading en - gineers and chemists. During the late 1850’s, Nobel Global Resources Nobel, Alfred • 823 returned to Sweden and developed an interest in ni- troglycerin, an extremely unstable and volatile explo- sive. Nobel worked to stabilize nitroglycerin. His ef- forts led to the derivative product dynamite and, later, to blasting gelatin and ballistite; he also invented the detonators that were necessary to ignite these explo- sives through shock, using a fuse rather than basic ig- nition. These explosives wereusedinengineeringprojects as well as for military purposes. Nobel made a fortune through his 355 patents and left most of his $8.5 mil- lion estate to establish and support an awards pro- gram that would recognize major global contribu- tions in chemistry, physics, medicine or physiology, literature, and peace; economic science was added as a category by the Nobel Prize Committee in 1969 through a gift from the Bank of Sweden. A pacifist at heart, Nobel believed that the arms de - veloped from his inventions were so powerful that they would maintain the peace. Austrian pacifist Ber- tha von Suttner influenced Nobel during the last years of hislife,whenhewasworkingonhiswill, which established the Nobel Prizes. Impact on Resource Use Nobel’s inventions had immediate and long-term im- pact on engineering projects throughout the world. Originally intended to facilitate the removal of rock on construction projects, dynamite and its accom- panying products impacted transportation within civ- ilized areas through the expansion of railroads and underground, inter-city subway systems. Through cost- effective, valued engineering, roads, bridges, and ca- nals were constructed. Canals in Europe, Egypt, and Panama were made possible through the use of dyna- mite, as were the transcontinental railroads across the United States and Russia. Dynamite and ballistite also provided more effective access to minerals and other materials that were more readily available and distrib- uted. Mining and quarrying operations became more cost-effective with the use of dynamite, and mining projects throughout the world were undertaken. Ac- cess to copper, gold, silver, and other metals and min- erals was improvedthrough the use ofdynamite.How- ever, Nobel’s discoveries and the materials that they made available also contributed to improving weap- ons of war.Anindirect but significant result of Nobel’s work was the establishment of the Nobel Prizes, which reward the effective use of human intellectual re- sources on behalf of the common good. William T. Walker Web Site Nobel Foundation Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Nobel Prize http://nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel See also: Carter, Jimmy; Dynamite; Gore, Al; Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change; Maathai, Wangari. Nonrenewable resources. See Renewable and nonrenewable resources 824 • Nobel, Alfred Global Resources Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, which was initially used as an ex- plosive to obtain minerals. (The Nobel Foundation) Global Resources Norris, George W. • 825 Norris, George W. Category: People Born: July 11, 1861; Sandusky County, Ohio Died: September 2, 1944; McCook, Nebraska By the early twentieth century, electricity was the pre- ferred energy choice for operating American cities. However, extending the benefits of electrical power to hard-pressed rural America was 2cost-prohibitive, ac- cording to laissez-faire capitalists of the day. Norris, a tenacious prairie politician with a vision, found a way to help rural Americans acquire electrical power. Biographical Background George William Norris was born on an Ohio farm near Sandusky as the eleventh of twelve children of Chauncey and Mary Norris. Both parents were illiter- ate, hardworking, God-fearing farm folk who never attended church regularly. Still, they taught compas- sion for the poor that resonated throughout their son’s life. Besieged laborers, both on the farm and in the factory, were his chosen constituency. The death of Norris’s father plunged his family into hardship. Norris worked thefamilyfarm and hired out as a farm- hand. In 1883, he obtained a law degree at Northern Indiana Normal School (now Valparaiso University). A job offer took him to Nebraska. He married twice, fathering three daughters with his first wife. He set- tled permanently in McCook, Nebraska. From 1902 to 1913, Norris served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a congressman from the 5th District of Nebraska. In 1913, he started his thirty-year career as a U.S. senator. He began as a con- servative Republican but moved from that position to an agrarian progressive Republican, forging an alli- ance with Robert M. La Follette. Norris ended his career as an Independent but was closely allied in phi- losophy and deed with the policies of President Frank- lin Delano Roosevelt. Following his defeat for a sixth term in the Senate, Norris returned home, where he completed an autobiography, Fighting Liberal: The Au- tobiography of George W. Norris (1945). He died of a cere- bral hemorrhage on September 2, 1944. Impact on Resource Use Norris is remembered as the father of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Tennessee River, a major watershed in the American South, flows through seven states. At a place called Muscle Shoals, Alabama, there was a 64-kilometer stretch of rapids with an approxi- mately 40-meter drop. This made the site suitable for the generation of hydroelectric power based on the force of falling water. Three dams already erected there by the government during World War I to power nitrate production, lay abandoned. Norris envisioned reinvigorating the areawithacomprehensiveriverde- velopment plan capable of generating hydroelectric- ity to power businesses and homes, irrigate farmland, and provide flood control. The federal government, not private corporations, sponsored the herculean effort. This multifaceted project brought social uplift to the impoverished people of the region. Norris fought off the private sector, the vetoes of two presi- dents, charges of socialism, and a Supreme Court challenge to bring affordable energy and economic transformation to the severely depressed southeast region of the United States. Using clever parliamen- tary maneuvers and straight talk, Norris helped push through the legislation of the May, 1933, act authoriz- ing the Tennessee Valley Authority. Its legislative twin, Senator George Norris helped the rural population of the United States acquireelectricity.(Time &LifePictures/Getty Images) the Rural Electrification Act, was passed in 1936. He never used his office for private gain, a fact that distin- guished him in political annals. JoEllen Broome See also: Hydroenergy; Irrigation; Roosevelt, Frank- lin D.; Tennessee Valley Authority; United States. Norway Categories: Countries; government and resources With its large reserves of oil and natural gas, Norway plays an important role in the global energy market. Ranking twenty-first in proven oil reserves and eigh- teenth in proven gas reserves, and exporting almost all of the oil and gas it processes, Norway is an important source of energy particularly because it is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Its major market is the European Union. The Country Norway is located in northern Europe and is part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.Itisbordered by the Nor- wegian Sea to the west, the North Sea to the south, and the Barents Sea to the north. It shares its eastern border with Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Norway is a mountainous country with high plateaus. The north- ernmost part is in the Arctic tundra and is covered with glaciers. Norway also has a considerable number of valleys and some plains, which are suitable for farm- ing. The coastline is broken by a large number of fjords and has numerous adjacent islands. Lakes and rivers abound in the valleys. Norway’s key resources arehydropower, oil, natural gas, forests,andfisheries. In 2007, Norway ranked forty-fourth in purchasing power parity, and, based on its gross domestic product per capita, it was the sixth richest country in the world. In 2008, the Global Competitiveness Index placed Norway sixteenth in the world. Norway is also important in the global market as a producer of hydropower and as a source of hydropower technol- ogy, an expertise which it shares with developing countries. As the second largest exporter of seafood, Norway plays an important role in supplying fish to the global market. It is also a significant supplier of timber and paper products. Oil Oil, a liquid form of petroleum, is extremely impor- tant to the economy of Norway. The country’s oil re- sources are all located offshore, in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. In 1960, oil was discovered in the Norwegian coastal shelf in the North Sea. By 1975, Norway was playing a significant role in the oil export market. In 1996, Norway ranked third in the world as an exporter of crude oil. Oil has provided the impetus that has enabled Norway’s economy to surpass those of its neighboring countries of Sweden and Denmark. Domestically, Norway has been able to manage its oil reserves so that oil provides 30 percent of the state revenues. The government has achieved this situation by state participation in and control of the oil indus- try. Among the oil-producing companies in Norway, Statoil Norge AS is completely owned by the Norwe- gian government, and Hydro Texas AS is under one- half government ownership and one-half private own- ership. There are also six private companies. This achievement is in contrast to the majority of resource- rich countries that usually do not see economic growth as a result of their resources. Norway has concen- trated its efforts on the discovery of oil and its extrac- tion because oil is the highest priced per-unit re- source in the energy market. This focus has required the country to develop innovative technology for the extraction of its oil, which, because it is located under- water, is more difficult and costly to obtain than un- derground oil. This is perhaps one of the reasons that Norway has experienced favorable economic growth. Norway is the second largest producer of oil in Eu- rope. The country exports almost all of its oil, while relying upon hydropower and firewood to meet its domestic energy needs. Oil exports account for ap- proximately 50 percent of Norway’s exports, and Nor- way ranks seventh in oil exports globally. Aware that the country’s oil supply will eventually reach apointof depletion (at which extraction will no longer be eco- nomically feasible), the Norwegian government has enacted a policy of saving almost the entire revenue from petroleum in a sovereign wealth fund. Natural Gas Norway’s natural gas reserves, like its oil reserves, are located offshore. The first reserveswere discovered in the North Sea; later, more reserves were found in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. These reserves have placed Norway eighteenth in the world in natu - ral gas reserves. The Norwegian government plays a 826 • Norway Global Resources Global Resources Norway • 827 Norway: Resources at a Glance Official name: Kingdom of Norway Government: Constitutional monarchy Capital city: Oslo Area: 125,030 mi 2 ; 323,802 km 2 Population (2009 est.): 4,660,539 Languages: Bokmål Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian Monetary unit: Norwegian krone (NOK) Economic summary: GDP composition by sector (2008 est.): agriculture, 2%; industry, 44.2%; services, 53.8% Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower Land use (2005): arable land, 2.7%; permanent crops, 0%; other, 97.3% Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing Agricultural products: barley, wheat, potatoes, pork, beef, veal, milk, fish Exports (2008 est.): $168.8 billion Commodities exported: petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish Imports (2008 est.): $85.99 billion Commodities imported: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs Labor force (2008 est.): 2.591 million Labor force by occupation (2008): agriculture, 2.9%; industry, 21.1%; services, 76% Energy resources: Electricity production (2008 est.): 142.7 billion kWh Electricity consumption (2008 est.): 128.8 billion kWh Electricity exports (2008 est.): 17.3 billion kWh Electricity imports (2008 est.): 3.45 billion kWh Natural gas production (2008 est.): 99.3 billion m 3 Natural gas consumption (2007 est.): 6.5 billion m 3 Natural gas exports (2007 est.): 85.7 billion m 3 Natural gas imports (2007 est.): 0 m 3 Natural gas proved reserves (Jan. 2008 est.): 2.241 trillion m 3 Oil production (2007 est.): 2.565 million bbl/day Oil imports (2005): 92,650 bbl/day Oil proved reserves (Jan. 2008 est.): 6.865 billion bbl Source: Data from The World Factbook 2009. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009. Notes: Data are the most recent tracked by the CIA. Values are given in U.S. dollars. Abbreviations: bbl/day = barrels per day; GDP = gross domestic product; km 2 = square kilometers; kWh = kilowatt-hours; m 3 = cubic meters; mi 2 = square miles. Oslo Finland Russia Sweden Norway Denmark Baltic Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea . The Norwegian government plays a 826 • Norway Global Resources Global Resources Norway • 827 Norway: Resources at a Glance Official name: Kingdom of Norway Government: Constitutional monarchy Capital. acid. Nitrates and nitrites from agricultural runoff fertilize the growth of algae in lakes and streams (causing eu - 818 • Nitrogen and ammonia Global Resources Global Resources Nitrogen and ammonia • 819 Data. reserves, and exporting almost all of the oil and gas it processes, Norway is an important source of energy particularly because it is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).