It’s not as well-known as the other issues, like climate change or water shortage, but phosphorus depletion is no less significant. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all forms of life. It is a key element in our DNA and all living organisms require daily phosphorus intake to produce energy. It cannot be replaced and there is no synthetic substitute: without phosphorus, there is no life. Also, if phosphorus ran out we’d have to live without food. In order to remain sustainable with our growing population, we need to add four times the amount of phosphorus into grasslands than there already is. Experts have calculated that most grasslands around the world have more phosphorus being removed than added to it – a precursor to infertile lands, where no arable crops can grow. http://scroll.in/article/803493/how-the-great-phosphorus-shortage-could-leave-us-short-of-food http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/grasslands...0-if-booming-global-population-be-fed-1544200
Phosphorus is the 11th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the natural cycle is supposed to return it to the soil by natural decomposition of organic matter. It is a structural component of DNA and indispensable in metabolic chemicals such as ATP for both animals and plants. Phosphorus containing minerals are processed to produce fertilizer. The boom in the human population and the need to cultivate more land to feed them are the principle threats to the natural phosphorus cycle. As such, creative ways to reclaim any phosphorus that is lost will become increasingly important. Management of phosphorus in runoff water from farms entering streams and waste water from the use of laundry detergent is also a sensitive issue in connection with phosphorus: http://www.aciscience.org/docs/economic analysis phosphate control.pdf excessive amounts of which can exacerbate environmental problems with algae blooms to the detriment of other aquatic life. Needless to say, the problem is more environmentally complex than the link in the OP would have us believe.
