Science Alert October 7, 2019
Phosphorous is an essential mineral for all plants and animals on Earth, including humans. It is not a renewable element, and there are currently no known substitutes and there are very few areas in which it is mined. In a report a group of 40 international experts have warned that if nothing is done to conserve this crucial element, our planet might soon run out completely. The world is entirely unprepared for the looming phosphorous crisis. There is no collaboration or coordination on a global scale that takes the responsibility of governing the global P-resource, not even between EU member states or the states of USA. At the current consumption levels, some models suggest we will run out of known phosphorus reserves in 80 years. More conservative estimates place day zero 400 years from now, while others give us less than 40 years to come up with a solution to this imminent problem. While the United States was once the leading phosphorous producer globally 30 years ago, India and China now account for over 45 percent of the world’s total consumption. Report: The global phosphorus crisis …..read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Intersectoral gap, in phosphorus-related research generated with VosViewer and based on 8000 articles. Credit: Environ. Sci. Technol. 201953158479-8481; July 8, 2019Â