GPRI Events

Recent and upcoming events organised by GPRI members:

Eating the Earth: How should we eat to ensure a sustainable future?
UTSpeaks free public lecture - 6pm 18th February 2009, UTS, Sydney

What do obesity, factory farming, fair trade, peak oil, peak phosphorus and climate change have in common? Why might our ‘pee’ one day be worth its weight in gold? With three expert speakers, this lecture puts our daily dinner table and supermarket choices under the spotlight. It questions the kind of human diet our planet can sustain and looks at how we could reduce demand on global resources, while maintaining a balanced diet and ethical food industry. Finally you’ll hear about the great global phosphorus crisis. Vital to plant and animal growth, the value of this element is sky-rocketing as supply from a few mines world-wide decreases. Our days of peeing phosphorus down the drain and food production processes demanding an excess of phosphorus may soon be costly habits of the past.

Speakers: Professor Stuart White, Dr Rosemary Stanton OAM, Dana Cordell

Download the powerpoint slides and audio recordings here

top



The Future of Phosphorus: Implications of Global Fertilizer Scarcity
National stakeholder workshop -14th November 2008, ISF, Sydney

The GPRI hosted a national workshop on the Future of Phosphorus at the Institute for Sustainable Futures in Sydney, Australia on 14th November 2008. The intention of the workshop was to bring together key Australian stakeholders to discuss the implications of global phosphate scarcity (and related sustainability and ethical issues) for Australia’s food production and consumption system and vision possible future scenarios.

The group concluded that a sustainable phosphorus future in the long-term would need to take an integrated perspective on phosphorus, food and other pertinent issues such as water and climate change, which would require substantial restructuring of our institutional and economic systems and building of institutional capacity. The efficiency of phosphorus use throughout the agricultural and food system would also need to be maximised to secure future food needs, considering healthy soils means healthy food and a healthy economy. The vision also called for a ‘Ministry of Food’ reflecting the view that issues of food and resources are not considered sufficiently central in public policy, paying greater attention to health and diets and the resource intensity of producing certain types of food. Ensuring the sources and use of phosphorus were ethical was also paramount, as was building a community base of views, knowledge and preferences.

While there is a concerning lack of data and research in this area, participants highlighted the need for further data collection and research on the role of phosphorus in the economy and opportunities for capturing phosphorus losses for reuse.


Download workshop flyer [note: this is a closed stakeholder workshop]
Download background paper
Download workshop synthesis report [available soon]

Photos from the workshop:




top

---

GPRI in the news

Selected radio, TV and newspaper articles on global phosphorus scarcity:


Peak Phosphorus, The Current, CBC, Part 2. Friday 10th July, 2009.
Listen here


Peak Phosphorus: A more important peak than oil?, Landmark magazine, p.6-8. June, 2009.
download PDF here


Peak Phosphorus in sight: More effective use will extend world availability, Part 1, Australian Farm Journal, p.22-25. June, 2009.
http://www.contextualise.com/articles/australian-farm-journal/


The sewage plant carries the sweet smell of valuable phosphorus The Globe & Mail, May 18th, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090518.BCHUMECOLUMN18ART2201/TPStory//BritishColumbia/


Peak phosphorus: the sequel to peak oil? Fora Radio, Radio National, 6th May, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/foraradio/stories/2009/2561542.htm


Phosphate fertiliser depleting: The gradual depletion of phosphate fertiliser, crucial for mass food production, puts its future in doubt
 CHOICE Magazine, 28th April, 2009
www.choice.com.au/goArticle.aspx?ID=106840


Eating the Earth: ABC Fora, ABC2 Television, 9th April, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/fora/stories/2009/04/09/2539410.htm


Phosphorus: Running low of an essential fertilizer? The Why Files, 11th September, 2008
http://whyfiles.org/286shortages/index.php?g=2.txt


Scientists warn of lack of vital phosphorus as biofuels raise demand, The London Times, 23rd June, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article4193017.ece


The era of peak phosphorus is coming, ABC Radio National Bush Telegraph, 20th June, 2008
listen here


Warning of World Phosphate Shortage, The Australian, 12th March, 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23360117-30417,00.html


Urine Helps Secure Phosphorus Supply, WME Environmental Management News, 
12th February, 2007
http://www.fromthesoilup.com.au/news/urine-helps-secure-phosphorus-supply


Lismore won't need to drink recycled water, The Northern Star, 31st January, 2007
http://www.northernstar.com.au/?storyid=3719806&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=


A blooming waste, UTS Newsroom, 6th December, 2006
http://www.newsroom.uts.edu.au/news/detail.cfm?ItemId=7034


The Story of P, The Wrap, ISF Newsletter, Vol 5, No. 2, August, 2006