The era of peak phosphorus is coming

You probably heard of peak oil – the idea that global petroleum supplies are about to, or have, passed their peak. But have you ever heard of peak phosphorus?

Probably not, but it’s something you’ll hear alot more about in years to come because when the earth’s phosphorus supplies run out, so too will food.

It sounds like a doomsday scenario, but my guest today believes deposits of phosphorus could be depleted this century.

And while oil can at least be partly replaced with alternative energies, nothing that can replace phosphorus in food production.

But there’s a glimmer of hope if phosphorus can be reclaimed from human waste.

In this report: Dana Cordell, an Australian PhD scholar studying in Sweden; Nick Drew, executive mananger of Fertiliser Industry Federation of Australia