Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative

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Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative web page

 

• Current human use of the key nutrient element phosphorus (P) is unsustainable, as emerging scarcity threatens to induce widespread famine while wasteful use pollutes rivers, lakes and oceans. The ASU Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative (SPI) seeks to: 1. Build a credible scientific consensus on the dimensions of the phosphorus sustainability challenge. 2. Catalyze an interdisciplinary global network focused on phosphorus sustainability. 3. Design & motivate institutional, commercial, and consumer behavior change for conservation and recycling to establish phosphorus sustainability. SPI is ASU's timely and solution-driven response to what might be called “the biggest problem you’ve never heard of.” By closing the phosphorus cycle, countries, cities, and families will become more secure and more affluent, while living in a healthier environment free of the degrading impacts of widespread nutrient pollution.

Collaborators

Dr. James J. Elser, Regents' Professor & Parents Association Professor; Associate Dean, Research and Training Initiatives; Acting Dean, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287 j.elser@asu.edu Dr.

Daniel L. Childers, Associate Director, Global Institute of Sustainability; Professor, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287 dan.childers@asu.edu

Dr. Mark Edwards, Professor, WPC Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287 mark.edwards@asu.edu