Without fertilizer, we would all be in a lot of trouble.

It is only our knowledge of plant nutrients, and our ability to find substances that provide those nutrients to them, that allows us to use agriculture in the way that we do, in the same fields every year. Without this basic tool, we would have to create an entirely new field every few years for every thing that is grown.

The basic problem comes from harvest. In that process, we remove bits that would once have fallen to the ground and composted, thus replenishing the soil. Since we remove a good portion of the plant during harvest, we are essentially taking those nutrients away. Over time, there isn't enough left in the soil to grow crops with.

That's where fertilizer comes in.

The application of fertilizer replenishes these nutrients, allowing crops to be repeatedly grown on the same plot of land, year after year.

It isn't exactly 'new' technology. Madehow.com informs that manure from animals was spread on crops far, far back into the Agricultural Revolution, as the earliest farmers learned from experience that the first year's yields on a plot of land were always much better than those from subsequent years. The ancient Egyptians began to add ashes from their fires to it as well. The understanding of plant nutrients and fertilizer production really took off in the late 18th through the 19th century.

What has happened is that, over the years, we have evolved our fertilizer to the point of amazing concentrations of plant nutrients – one gram of modern chemical fertilizer has the available plant nutrients of something like 100 pounds of manure! Crop yields have improved dramatically, allowing us to feed the multitudes we have become as a species.

The problem, ironically, begins to occur because these chemical fertilizers do have so many nutrients in them.

The heat is on, and it's organic cotton that is getting hot!

Over the year 2007-2008, the production of organic cotton increased by an unbelievable 152%, according to the Organic Trade Association, and continues to grow at about a rate of 50% per year, according to the venerable Wikipedia.

So, what is organic cotton? And why the sudden explosion?

The Organic Trade Association defines organic cotton as “cotton that is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified.” Pretty simple. So, why is that so great? Because chemical fertilizers and pesticides are coming increasingly into the spotlight for their horrific effects on the environment and the health of humans and other animals.

Use of inorganic fertilizers can upset the stability of mineral ions in the soil. Over time, this can cause the fertility of the top soil to degrade, and cause it to become more susceptible to erosion.

Use of chemical fertilizer also destroys the natural ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and other beneficial organisms that live in the soil. This eventually leads to a loss of humus, the naturally occurring plant nutrients created by the decomposition of organic matter. This deteriorates the natural fertility of top soil – simultaneously causing the need for more fertilizer, and accelerating the damage. The porosity of the soil is also affected, meaning the roots can no longer acquire sufficient oxygen and take in salts as well.

These unabsorbed nitrates are carried by rain water into rivers and lakes, where they accumulate and pose a threat to aquatic life. The degradation of soil causes it to become dry and powdery, and the wind begins to carry it away. This is the primary cause of what is known as 'desertification' – the conversion of once-arable land to desert.