Milwaukee journalist explores phosphorus, one of the most perilous environmental issues of our time

Milwaukee writer Dan Egan has taken on the topic in his new book called, The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance.

Egan says its story folds in pollution, economics, the environment and history.

“Phosphorus has its tentacles in so many different things and you have to build an arc if you’re trying to keep a reader reading along,” Egan says. “It’s hard when you’re writing about something that is in every living cell.”

Phosphorus has made farming highly productive, but has also caused toxic algae blooms in Wisconsin’s waters.

“We have this legacy of over-applying phosphorus because it was like an insurance policy. It’s like when you’re cooking – if a little is good, a lot is better,” Egan says. “And now, as the farms are getting bigger, we’re applying manure in an arguably helter-skelter fashion in some cases.”...