A: List the major ideas, concepts or key points- point by point
Conditions for growth of plants boil down to 19-12-5. Nitrogen-phosphorus potassium. Phosphorus global supply might start to run out by the end of the century. Phosphorus has become one of the most significant sustainability issues despite having little attention. Agriculture accelerates land erosion, so more phosphorus drains away with runoff. Too much phosphorus from eroded soil ends up in lakes and oceans, causing eutrophication. Making agriculture sustainable over the long term begins with renewing efforts to phase out toxic metals from plumbing. We are running out of phosphorus deposits that are relatively easily and cheaply exploitable
C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views
After reading this article I think that society need to make a serious effort at phosphorus conservation. Modern society separates food production and consumption which limits our ability to return nutrients to the land. U.S mines no longer supply enough phosphorus to satisfy the production of fertilize. The U.S and much of the globe may come to depend on a single country for a critical resource. What we should do is educate more people about this problem and get them aware of what might happen if we have no more phosphorus.
So what?:
Says Who?:
What if?... we do run out of phosphorus:
What does this remind me of?: Water. We currently use too much water and there is enough people being educated to conserve it. If we don't conserve we'll end up running out of it all.
- Nitrogen may become depleted by the end of the century
- The U.S. produces 19% of the world’s phosphorus
- Phosphorus in usually found in Phosphates building block for DNA, ATP and cell membranes
- Our modern agricultural practices reduces amount of phosphorus that is able to return to the land. We use them once then flush them away
- Harvesting breaks up the cycle because it removes phosphorus from the land.
- Modern society separates food production and consumption which limits our ability to return nutrients to the land.
- Too much phosphorus from eroded soil ends up in lakes and oceans, causing eutrophication.
- Agriculture accelerates land erosion, so more phosphorus drains away with runoff.
- The U.S. has a lot of its phosphorus imported
- Society need to make a serious effort at phosphorus conservation
- Unused parts of plants from harvest animal waste should be returned to the land (there is phosphorus in those)
- Phosphorus may also have to be removed from human waste
- We will have to treat our waste water to recover phosphorus from solid waste
- Task is difficult because residual biosolids are contaminated with many pollutants.
- Making agriculture sustainable over the long term begins with renewing efforts to phase out toxic metals from plumbing.
- Half the phosphorus we excrete is in our urine, which is easy to recover
- New discoveries are likely just to forestall the depletion of reserves, not to prevent it
- The mineral then, through weathering and runoff, makes its way into the ocean, where marine organisms may recycle it some 800 times before it passes into sediments
- Over tens of millions of years tectonic uplift may return it to dry land
- Harvesting breaks up the cycle because it removes phosphorus from the land. In prescientific agriculture, when human and animal waste served as fertilizers, nutrients went back into the soil at roughly the rate they had been withdrawn
- Our modern society separates food production and consumption, which limits our ability to return nutrients to the land. Instead we use them once and then flush them away
Conditions for growth of plants boil down to 19-12-5. Nitrogen-phosphorus potassium. Phosphorus global supply might start to run out by the end of the century. Phosphorus has become one of the most significant sustainability issues despite having little attention. Agriculture accelerates land erosion, so more phosphorus drains away with runoff. Too much phosphorus from eroded soil ends up in lakes and oceans, causing eutrophication. Making agriculture sustainable over the long term begins with renewing efforts to phase out toxic metals from plumbing. We are running out of phosphorus deposits that are relatively easily and cheaply exploitable
C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views
After reading this article I think that society need to make a serious effort at phosphorus conservation. Modern society separates food production and consumption which limits our ability to return nutrients to the land. U.S mines no longer supply enough phosphorus to satisfy the production of fertilize. The U.S and much of the globe may come to depend on a single country for a critical resource. What we should do is educate more people about this problem and get them aware of what might happen if we have no more phosphorus.
So what?:
- Too much phosphorus being used
- Having to mine for it
- May run out by the end of the century
Says Who?:
- David A. Vaccari
What if?... we do run out of phosphorus:
- No more phosphorus
- Population decline
- Less food
- Desperate to mine
What does this remind me of?: Water. We currently use too much water and there is enough people being educated to conserve it. If we don't conserve we'll end up running out of it all.