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posted by martyb on Friday February 21 2020, @05:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the where-there's-muck,-there's-money dept.

Phys.org:

According to the online news agency ABC Nyheter in Norway, the phosphorous crisis is perhaps the least well-known emergency in the world today. The Norwegian research news website forskning.no says that many scientists are warning of a state of "peak phosphorus," comparable to the expression "peak oil."

[...] "Phosphorous is a finite resource, not only physically, but also politically," says Helness. "Most of it is found in the western Sahara occupied by Morocco, and in China. So, in political terms, it is desirable to identify alternative sources," he says.

Phosphorous is common in sewage water, and the aim of the project is to recover it for use as fertilizer. Currently, a sludge residue that remains after the cleaning of wastewater is used for spreading on fields to improve soil quality.

Save the sweet, sweet night soil. It is precious unto them.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 22 2020, @03:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 22 2020, @03:22AM (#960920)

    Nobody (in their right mind) is saying ZOMG WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF PHOSPHORUS TOMORROW!!!

    Nobody is even claiming that the world of agriculture will be turned upside-down in the next ten years.

    The consequences will, as always with these things, be slow and subtle.

    Gradually rising prices. Gradual substitution by increasing energy inputs. Gradual reduction of phosphorus use on farms, reducing agricultural output...

    It's the crest of the wave of Borlaug's green revolution that we're talking about, not cannibalism on fifth street.

    Well, not yet.

    (And it's a well-known problem, to farmers. It's only urbanites being surprised.)