Phosphorus: A Looming By: David A.

Vaccari
Every package of fertilizer have nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the ratio of 1912-5 o Nitrogen is from the air o Phosphorus and potassium is from mining The available amount of phosphorus id decreasing, it will only last to the end of this century The U.S. = second largest producer of phosphorus (19% total) Modern agricultural practices tripled the natural rate of phosphorus depletion from the land o Causing eutrophication Weathering releases phosphorus from rocks into soil -> plants Forms the backbone of DNA and of cellular membranes An average human body = 650 grams of phosphorus (mostly in bones) Usually it gets recycled as much as 800 times before it goes into the sediments Phosphorus gets removed from land through the process of harvesting Land erosion gets accelerated by modern agriculture, causing more phosphorus to be drained away River floods helps put back nutrients in soil, but dams traps those sediments 37 million metric tons per year of phosphorus o 22 million metric tons come from mining Many of the phosphorus are trapped in types of rocks, such as high-carbonate minerals, which humans do not have the technology to extract them yet At current rate of usage, it will only last up to 90 years Consumption of phosphorus increase as population increase U.S. import phosphorus rocks

Many people do not care so much or have much concerns about phosphorus because they do not know the importance of it. People are more concern with the nitrogen cycle or the carbon cycle, but the phosphorus cycle is just as important as them. There is a possibility that the amount of phosphorus we have today will only last us about 90 years because of the rate we are using it. Due to modern agriculture, not many phosphorus are able to go back into the sediments to help plants grow because most of them are getting washed off into a nearby body of water or the ocean, causing eutrophication, then dead zones. Many countries are trying to conserve the amount of phosphorus they have by creating reserves, and even buying phosphorus rocks.

I think that people should be more concern about phosphorus and be more aware of the damages that they are causing by using that amount of phosphorus. In the past, phosphorus were able to go back into the sediments for other plants to use through natural fertilizers such as human feces, but now with modern technologies, phosphorus is being washed off into the ocean. Phosphorus is an important resource because many people use it daily. People should use phosphorus at a more reasonable rate, or do something to reduce the amount of phosphorus that is getting into the ocean.

So what? The amount of available phosphorus is decreasing.

Says who? David A. Vaccari

What if? What if there was no more phosphorus? Then there is no more phosphorus.

This reminds me of This reminds me of water because people are also concern about running out of clean water that is why they are trying to buy water reserves for their future usages.