ANALYSIS Soil scientists predict there is only enough of this essential nutrient left on earth to last 100 to 250 years, and when it’s gone, it’s gone for good
Global terrorism, Russian aggression, starvation, climate change, rising sea levels, drug crises, gun crises, new diseases. Planet Earth is regularly hit with a plethora of scourges.
Scientists say a nuclear war would eliminate half the world’s population outright. After the nuclear winter that goes with nuclear war, scientists say that after a decade or so, things would start returning to normal for those who didn’t die of starvation or hypothermia.
NASA says warming after nuclear winter will take seven years and Rutgers University climatologist Alan Robock optimistically projects temperature recovery to begin within five years of the war.
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But this is akin to mosquito bites on the body of the human race compared to one factor that can end all life forms on Earth. There is a gnawing consumption that the scientific community largely ignores and mainstream society doesn’t know about.
One of the basic building blocks of life, phosphorus, P, is being eaten away. All life on Earth requires phosphorus. Without it, everything dies.
Soil scientists predict there is only enough phosphorus to last 100 to 250 years. When it’s gone, it’s gone for good, and so are humans.
Nitrogen (N2) makes up 78.08 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen (O2) makes up another 20.95 percent. Both gases are free for the taking. They recycle naturally so there’s no chance of losing supply.
The crisis is that, unlike N and 0, phosphorus is a finite element and it is being eaten up like popcorn at a ball game. It is used in fertilizer to grow crops. Polyphosphoric acid goes into asphalt for highways and parking lots. P is used in fire retardants applied to forest fires by aircraft. The electronics industry finds new uses for P daily. Some dishwasher detergents and household cleaners contain P.
Mankind continually finds new ways to use P. Every time one pound of P runs into a lake or the ocean, it’s lost for good. There’s one less pound to nourish human life.
It’s main use is fertilizer, allowing farmers to grow crops and livestock.
Approximately 75 percent of all known phosphorus reserves are found in Morocco. It’s owned by King Mohammed VI, the 23rd king of the Alaouite Dynasty, the reign of which started in the middle of the 17th century. The remaining 25 percent of P is scattered around China, South Africa, Jordan and the United States.
