A Growing Problem

The "green revolution" of the twentieth century has allowed the farmers of the world to use chemical fertilizers and machines to produce far more food than they ever did before. One of the primary components of the green revolution has been the development of nitrogen fertilizers that dramatically accelerate the growth and productivity of plants in the field. Plants "fix," or capture, nitrogen on their own as well, but green revolution technologies have become so popular that humans are now adding more nitrogen to the earth than all of the plants in the world combined![7]

Nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than does carbon dioxide, and we release them every time we apply fertilizer to soil. A recent United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization study found that modern farming is contributing more to global warming than all of the transportation sector combined![8] This is due partly to the fuel burned in modern farming, but more significantly, to the release of methane and nitrogen oxides.