Bibliograph

The devil's element, phosphorus and a world out of balance, Dan Egan

Type

Label

The devil's element, phosphorus and a world out of balance, Dan Egan

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-219) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The devil's element

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1370349936

Responsibility statement

Dan Egan

Sub title

phosphorus and a world out of balance

Summary

"The story of phosphorus spans the globe and vast tracts of human history. The race to mine phosphorus took people from the battlefields of Waterloo, which were looted for the bones of fallen soldiers, to the fabled guano islands off Peru, the Bone Valley of Florida, and the sand dunes of the Western Sahara. Over the past century, phosphorus has made farming vastly more productive, feeding the enormous increase in the human population. Yet, as Egan harrowingly reports, our overreliance on this vital crop nutrient is today causing toxic algae blooms and "dead zones" in waterways from the coasts of Florida to the Mississippi River basin to the Great Lakes and beyond. Egan also explores the alarming reality that diminishing access to phosphorus poses a threat to the food system worldwide--which risks rising conflict and even war"--, Provided by publisher

Target audience

adult

Classification