Mongabay: While the use of synthetic fertilizer has greatly increased agricultural production globally–helping to feed a global population that is not slowing down–it has brought with it high environmental costs. Fertilizer runoff has polluted many coastal regions creating ‘dead zones’ where the ocean is starved of oxygen by the influx of nitrogen. Synthetic fertilizers have also polluted the air with ammonia, and sent emissions of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global …