Sewage … a solution for ‘peak phosphorous’

A new study by Foreign Policy (as reported in the NYT) confirms our fears of a collapsing agricultural system.

About 90 percent of the world’s phosphorous supplies are controlled by five countries, and they warn that as soon as 2040, this limited resource could be lost forever if we don’t get better at reclaiming our discarded phosphorous.

Ostara, a Canadian-based company backed in part by environmental legend Robbert Kennedy Jr., has patented a technique to extract valuable chemicals out of the waste stream (i.e.: sewage). The result is called “Crystal Green” a slow-release chemical fertilizer that contains high levels of phosphorous and is extracted from an abundant, ever-flowing resource … sewage. Intentionally or not, the brand name bears a remarkable similarity to “Soylent Green,” the 1973 cult classic in which an undercover cop discovers that an agribusiness giant is peddling poop to satisfy a world hunger crisis

CNN & MNN