Phosphorus: Past and Future

Jim Elser and Phil Haygarth's book is an optimistic 'Call to Arms' sequel to Emsley's gripping book written two decades ago: The Shocking History of Phosphorus. Elser and Haygarth's book is not just about phosphorus atoms and its cycle: It is about the people and events that led to the discovery, use (as well as abuse) of phosphorus, and the champions of change in the current sustainable phosphorus movement. This element underpins the world we live in — from the food on our table to the atoms in our DNA, so the risks facing the world's fragile phosphorus cycle are relevant to all of us, not just to scientists. Elser and Haygarth are not only brilliant scientists, they are excellent storytellers. Phosphorus needed Jim and Phil to tell the inside story. This really is a book for everyone. * Dana Cordell, Research Director and Associate Professor, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney * At a time when environmental concerns are dominated by carbon (above all by its role in the global warming), this book is a welcome reminder that the human interference in other biospheric cycles deserves no less attention. Elser and Haygarth's treatment and approach stands out. They offer a systematic and thorough examination of the element in the modern world, of its fundamental importance, its irreplaceable uses, their desired and unwelcome consequences, and the ways to manage them better. * Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and author of Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made * Who thinks about phosphorus when they dig into a juicy sirloin steak? Elser and Haygarth bring the two together from the beginning of the universe (actually after the Big Bang) to the chunk of red meat on the plate. They skillfully guide the reader through the history of discovery, use, over-use, and need for reduced consumption of phosphorus because there is only so much left on our planet. Doomsday is set aside when they provide alternative human behaviors that reduce our over-consumptive threats to our resources and provide ways for us to make a smaller carbon footprint, a smaller nitrogen footprint, and a smaller phosphorus footprint. * Nancy Rabalais, Professor and Shell Endowed Chair in Oceanography and Wetland Studies in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University and coeditor of Coastal Hypoxia: Consequences for Living Resources and Ecosystems *