evidence: As a result, millions of people owe their lives to Haber and Bosch. The population explosion of the 20th century – from 1.6 billion people in 1900 to the 7.8 billion alive today – is in part thanks to them. At the same time, you can ask yourself whether the world is better off thanks to this invention. Because that enormous population growth – and the nitrogen released through the use of synthetic fertilisers – have been to the detriment of our natural environment. [...] The Haber-Bosch process spells an end to Malthus’s predictions. Thanks to Haber, Bosch and Rossignol millions of people are having dinner tonight. Haber received the Nobel Prize for this in 1918, because he turned air into bread. [...] The global population is predicted to reach 10 billion by 2050. This means we’re only going to need more synthetic fertilisers. And more synthetic fertiliser means more nitrogen.