PHOSPHORUS a LOOMING CRISIS
- This underappreciated resource—a key part of fertilizers—is still decades from running out. But we must act now to conserve it, or future agriculture will collapse
- Mining phosphorus for fertilizer is consuming the mineral faster than geologic cycles can replenish it. The US may run out of its accessible domestic sources in a few decades, and few other countries have substantial reserves, which could also be depleted in about a century
- Excess phosphorus in water-ways helps to feed algal blooms, which starve fish of oxygen, creating *dead zones *
- Reducing soil erosion and recycling phosphorus from farm and human waste could help make food production sustainable and prevent agal blooms
- Readily available global supplies may start running out by the end of this century
- The US is the world's 2nd largest producer of phosphorus (after China), @ 19% of the total, but 65% of that amount comes from a single source - pit mines near Tampa, Fla, which may not last more than a few decades
- An average human body contains about 650g of phosphorus, most of it our bones
- Altogether, phosphorus flows now add up to an estimated 37 million metric tons come from phosphate mining.
- Harvesting breaks up the natural cycle because it removes phosphorus from the land
Solution - restoring balance to phosphorus cycle
1. Integrate farming - animal waste (including bones, which are phosphorus-rich) and I edible parts of plants could be recycled and become again the main sources of fertilizers
2. Reduce erosion - Lower impact practices such as no till agriculture help to limit soil erosion, leaving more phosphorus available for the next harvest. Research could also help farmers use fertilizer more efficiently
3. Phase our lead - old plumbing leaches lead and other toxic metals into tap water, making urban liquid and solid waste unsafe to use as fertilizer. Slowly phasing out these metals would facilitate recycling waste and it's phosphorus content
4. Seek new sources - once phosphorus becomes scarcer, price adjustment will stimulate mining companies to discover other reserves and to research new ways to extract the mineral economically
5. Recycle waste - the phosphorus in our diet goes through waste treatment plants and usually ends up in landfills or waterways. Recycling urban waste could instead return phosphorus( and nitrogen, another crucial component of fertilizers) to the land
Overuse our limited resource without realizing it. There is no time for us to wait; if we're not doing anything, then we get punish by nature. Nothing is free, we want something, we buy it; we want the resources from the environment, we must buy them. How can we pay for what we want to buy? Recycle waste, practice 3R, seek new resources, integrate farming, plant more trees, educate people what we have learned, etc. Let's be real!!
So what?
- Educate yourself and other people to have a better life
What if?
- we're just keeping overuse the resources?
Says who?
- David A. Vaccar
What does this remind me of?
- This reminds me of "Mining Phosphorus" video on youtube
- Mining phosphorus for fertilizer is consuming the mineral faster than geologic cycles can replenish it. The US may run out of its accessible domestic sources in a few decades, and few other countries have substantial reserves, which could also be depleted in about a century
- Excess phosphorus in water-ways helps to feed algal blooms, which starve fish of oxygen, creating *dead zones *
- Reducing soil erosion and recycling phosphorus from farm and human waste could help make food production sustainable and prevent agal blooms
- Readily available global supplies may start running out by the end of this century
- The US is the world's 2nd largest producer of phosphorus (after China), @ 19% of the total, but 65% of that amount comes from a single source - pit mines near Tampa, Fla, which may not last more than a few decades
- An average human body contains about 650g of phosphorus, most of it our bones
- Altogether, phosphorus flows now add up to an estimated 37 million metric tons come from phosphate mining.
- Harvesting breaks up the natural cycle because it removes phosphorus from the land
Solution - restoring balance to phosphorus cycle
1. Integrate farming - animal waste (including bones, which are phosphorus-rich) and I edible parts of plants could be recycled and become again the main sources of fertilizers
2. Reduce erosion - Lower impact practices such as no till agriculture help to limit soil erosion, leaving more phosphorus available for the next harvest. Research could also help farmers use fertilizer more efficiently
3. Phase our lead - old plumbing leaches lead and other toxic metals into tap water, making urban liquid and solid waste unsafe to use as fertilizer. Slowly phasing out these metals would facilitate recycling waste and it's phosphorus content
4. Seek new sources - once phosphorus becomes scarcer, price adjustment will stimulate mining companies to discover other reserves and to research new ways to extract the mineral economically
5. Recycle waste - the phosphorus in our diet goes through waste treatment plants and usually ends up in landfills or waterways. Recycling urban waste could instead return phosphorus( and nitrogen, another crucial component of fertilizers) to the land
Overuse our limited resource without realizing it. There is no time for us to wait; if we're not doing anything, then we get punish by nature. Nothing is free, we want something, we buy it; we want the resources from the environment, we must buy them. How can we pay for what we want to buy? Recycle waste, practice 3R, seek new resources, integrate farming, plant more trees, educate people what we have learned, etc. Let's be real!!
So what?
- Educate yourself and other people to have a better life
What if?
- we're just keeping overuse the resources?
Says who?
- David A. Vaccar
What does this remind me of?
- This reminds me of "Mining Phosphorus" video on youtube