6 Comments
Jun 19, 2022Liked by Melanie Newfield

this the 2nd story i catch on poor form in the acquisition of fertilizer in 2 days: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jun/18/mystery-of-waterloos-dead-soldiers-to-be-re-examined-by-academics

Expand full comment
author

Ok, that was definitely a creepy fertiliser story. Fascinating though, shows how desperate people were for phosphate before they discovered places to mine it.

Expand full comment

Thanks for this great explanation of phosphate - it sounds promising that controlling erosion can help with preventing negative effects on the waterways. How long will the phosphate continue to fertilize the soil if it doesn't run off? Is it conceivable a farmer could apply phosphate and, if they control runoff, leave it be for a matter of years?

Expand full comment
author

My understanding is that some places are so over-phosphated that they could go for a few years. But it is a limiting nutrient and lacking in many environments, so it will be depleted if the area is intensely farmed, especially if there is a lot of biomass removed from the system.

Expand full comment

yeah and i feel encouraged that people can be educated to act in a responsible way / i often rave on about the crimes of humanity like the prophet elijah crying in the wilderness and sometimes i forget how simple it is to just understand something and respond

Expand full comment
author

I live in hope. Sometimes there is positive environmental progress.

Expand full comment