Why the "world-changing" discovery of phosphates in Norway isn't quite as world-changing as you might have been led to believe. But don't panic: we're not going to run out of this critical rock
An excellent article but one that fails to mention that cadmium contamination is a major issue with many of these resources and reserves that renders them unusable.
NZ has a cadmium contamination issue across much of its arable land from using Nauru phosphate that contains cadmium at levels several hundred times the acceptable limit for human exposure through the food chain - that is why NZ is now using contentious Moroccan phosphate because it is one of the few sources of cadmium free phosphate rock. Cadmium is a particularly nasty poison that impacts on human health at very low concentrations- much worse than arsenic.
So the peak in "useable" phosphate actually is likely to be much closer than this article indicates. Think about this next time you flush the toilet and send your daily intake of nonrenewable phosphate down the sewer and out to the ocean. Disposing of our human excrement into our rivers and oceans is only a recent phenomenon - up until the 19th century it was highly valued as a fertiliser.
Without phosphate NZ doesn't have an agricultural economy and without an agricultural economy we dont have an urban economy as agriculture pays for nearly all of our imports.
An excellent article but one that fails to mention that cadmium contamination is a major issue with many of these resources and reserves that renders them unusable.
NZ has a cadmium contamination issue across much of its arable land from using Nauru phosphate that contains cadmium at levels several hundred times the acceptable limit for human exposure through the food chain - that is why NZ is now using contentious Moroccan phosphate because it is one of the few sources of cadmium free phosphate rock. Cadmium is a particularly nasty poison that impacts on human health at very low concentrations- much worse than arsenic.
So the peak in "useable" phosphate actually is likely to be much closer than this article indicates. Think about this next time you flush the toilet and send your daily intake of nonrenewable phosphate down the sewer and out to the ocean. Disposing of our human excrement into our rivers and oceans is only a recent phenomenon - up until the 19th century it was highly valued as a fertiliser.
Without phosphate NZ doesn't have an agricultural economy and without an agricultural economy we dont have an urban economy as agriculture pays for nearly all of our imports.
Thank you v interesting
Just checking. Should that million be billion in the 11th paragraph?
Oops yes. Corrected. Thank you!