New research from University College London (now formally known as London’s Global University) warns that so-called “green energy” and the political push behind it is driving a shortage of sulfuric acid, a fertilizer component also found in lithium-ion batteries.
Published in Geographic Journal, the study reveals that upwards of 80 percent of the global supply of sulfur comes from the desulfurization of fossil fuels, which the climate brigade has pronounced as evil because they are supposedly heavy polluters.
The push to “decarbonize” the planet in order to cool it and prevent global warming and climate change is making sulfur much harder to come by. By 2040, the “greenification” of the planet will create a “shortfall” in the annual supply of sulfur ranging between 100 and 320 million tons.
Meanwhile, demand for sulfur appears to be increasing by the day, not only in agriculture but also within the electric vehicle (EV) industry, which requires sulfur to continue producing batteries, as well as in battery-powered electronics like computers and mobile phones. (Related: The United Nations is warning that global grain production could drop by 40 percent due to lack of fertilizer.)
“With increased farming and the world moving away from fossil fuels, geographers estimate global demand for sulfuric acid will rise to 246 to 400 million tons by 2040,” the paper reads. “However, depending on how quickly decarbonization happens, there may only be 100 to 320 million tons available for use.”
Embracing a green energy future means starving much of the world
If fossil fuels go away like the greenies want them to, then we will also see global shortages of other fertilizers such as phosphorus, which is also used not only in agriculture but also in heavy industry to extract rare metals such as cobalt and nickel.
“Those metals are used in lithium-ion batteries that power up numerous electronic devices from cell phones to laptops,” the study explains.
Simon Day, a researcher at UCL’s Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction and one of the study’s co-authors, warns that a dwindling supply of sulfur “could lead to a transition period when green tech outbids the fertilizer industry for the limited more expensive sulfur supply.”
The study poses three scenarios depicting possible sulfuric acid demand between 2021 and 2040. In all of them, demand exceeds supply, which means there are going to be serious problems in the future unless the green energy kick goes by the wayside – and soon.
“Think the food crisis is bad now? Just wait a year,” wrote a commenter
