Hi Carol --
Here's an interesting link to an article in the London Times regarding the worldwide scarcity of phophate rock reserves.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle4193017.ece
Mosaic Corp, the last of about 100 US firms mining once abundant phosphate in Florida, still controls 16% of world supplies but the reserves are dwindling rapidly as demand increases - it's stock has been going thru the roof - fastest growing on the NY Exchange - as the price of ertilizer grows exponentially every year. Morocco now has the last really substantial P reserves - but still not enough to meet demand for more than a couple decades. Experts are predicting a major crisis in food production, due to P shortage, in about 20 years. We cannot produce food without phosphorous.
Meanwhile, we producers can expect to see our fertilizer bills skyrocket, which is reflected, of course. at the supermarket. Food is actually on the rise now, due in part to the cost of P - along with diesel fuel, of course. European countries are already capturing P from sewage and the price is reaching the point that those technologies will soon be used here. This is a sleeper crisis waiting to happen and we had better get our stuff together and deal with it.
Jack