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FERTILIZER AND FRACKING INTERESTS ALIGNED. "The US fertilizer industry increasingly relies on cheap natural gas extracted by hydrofracturing, or fracking." More on fracking on a month or two..." " http://lnkd.in/dACUYyz View in LinkedIn

FERTILIZERS AND THE DOMINANT US CROP. "Today, the United States remains a massive nitrogen-fertilizer user; with just 5 percent of the world's population, we consume about 12 percent of global nitrogen-fertilizer production. And corn—which according to the USDA "requires the most nitrogen per acre" of any crop—remains at the center of our agriculture, covering 30 percent of farmland each year."" " http://lnkd.in/dACUYyz View in LinkedIn

DELHI DECLARATION ON NITROGEN 2010. "REAFFIRM the Nanjing Declaration on Nitrogen Management (2004) that reactive nitrogen is a critical nutrient for food, feed and fiber security. However, inefficient management of all sources of reactive nitrogen has negative effects on the environment and human health and therefore, improved management is required for sustainable development,"" " http://initrogen.org/index.php/publications/delhi-declaration/ View in LinkedIn

GLOBAL NITROGEN CYCLING OUT OF CONTROL. "Although carbon dioxide may get more press, “the nitrogen cycle has been altered more than any other basic element cycle."" " http://lnkd.in/dkWEXMM View in LinkedIn

SHIFT OF FOCUS. "Since 1970, reactive nitrogen production has increased 120% while world population has increased 79%. Our focus on the world nitrogen cycle has shifted from food production to the environmental consequences of nitrogen fertilizers."" " http://lnkd.in/dyTYptE View in LinkedIn

GLOBAL N CYCLE ALTERED BY MAN. "As a consequence of anthropogenic inputs, the global nitrogen cycle has been significantly altered over the past century. Global atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) mole fractions have increased from a pre-industrial value of ~270 nmol/mol to ~319 nmol/mol in 2005. Human activities account for over one-third of N2O emissions, most of which are due to the agricultural sector."" " http://lnkd.in/de_n6xw View in LinkedIn

N2 FIXATION AND SYNBIO: "researchers will begin a program of novel research to revolutionize current farming methods by giving crops the ability to thrive without using costly, polluting manufactured fertilizers. Projects include: searching the planet for a lost bacterium with special properties; using synthetic biology to create a new intracellular machine allowing plants to produce fertilizer themselves; and engineering beneficial relationships between plants and microbes."" " http://lnkd.in/dMJkqUx View in LinkedIn

NITROGEN FIXATION is at the heart of the centuries-old practice of crop rotation, to ensure nitrogenation of the soil. Symbiotic bacteria in plants like clover turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, critical for plant growth. There is the real possibility to engineer plants that do not fix nitrogen to make their own natural fertilizer. View in LinkedIn

HUGE NITROGEN FIX. "Plants need nitrogen to grow, and by 2015, more than 190.4 million tons of it will be needed to supply the world’s food. Most farms rely on great quantities of industrially-produced, nitrogen-rich fertilizer to ensure crop yields, but doing so comes with trade-offs."" " http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/20130823-abi.html View in LinkedIn

COSTS OF ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS. "(They) are produced using vast amounts of fossil fuel. They also generate environmental problems from degrading soil to runoff into rivers where they pollute fresh waters and coastal zones. As a result, crops need an alternative from which they can gather needed nitrogen."" " http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/20130823-abi.html View in LinkedIn