World Phosphorous Use Crosses Critical Threshold

[Joanne98]

Source: Science Daily

Recalculating the global use of phosphorous, a fertilizer linchpin of modern agriculture, a team of researchers warns that the world's stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the industrialized world has become a leading cause of the pollution of lakes, rivers and streams.

Writing in the Feb. 14 edition of the journal Environmental Research Letters, Stephen Carpenter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Elena Bennett of McGill University report that the human use of phosphorous, primarily in the industrialized world, is causing the widespread eutrophication of fresh surface water. What's more, the minable global stocks of phosphorous are concentrated in just a few countries and are in decline, posing the risk of global shortages within the next 20 years.

"There is a finite amount of phosphorous in the world," says Carpenter, a UW-Madison professor of limnology and one of the world's leading authorities on lakes and streams. "This is a material that's becoming more rare and we need to use it more efficiently."

Phosphorous is an essential element for life. Living organisms, including humans, have small amounts and the element is crucial for driving the energetic processes of cells. In agriculture, phosphorous mined from ancient marine deposits is widely used to boost crop yields. The element also has other industrial uses.



Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110214163110.htm

[rhett o rick]

1. Isnt that what we use to burn children in Iraq? nm

[appal_jack]

2. White phosphorus is the munition

For info about White Phosphorus weapons, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus

But you can't live without the nutrient phosphorus. Think back to basic biology: your cells are encased in a phospho-lipid cell membrane, and they function using (and making) Adenosine tri-phosphate. I could go on, but you get the idea. Plants have similar needs, so no phosphorus in the soil = no crops = no us.

k&r

-app