"On the Hebridean island where I live, off the western coast of Scotland, windy days are smelly ones because large amounts of seaweed wash ashore, accumulating on the northern ends of beaches. For some, this might be an unremarkable occurrence, but here, on our small island, we see seaweed as a gift. There are around 1,000 of us - crofters and office workers, incomers like me, and those who have stayed forever."
"It also contains one particular substance that I have spent much of my life thinking about: phosphorus. Stored in rock and organic material, phosphorus cycles slowly around Earth, through magma and mountains, down rivers, through waste and into oceans. Without it, there'd be no life - every living being needs it to grow. Unlike other mined materials, we all eat it. In the human body, it gives our cells energy, structure and identity,"
On a Hebridean island, frequent storms wash large amounts of seaweed ashore, where residents collect it and use it as fertilizer. The community of about 1,000 people depends on tides, swells and ferry weather, which keeps Earth's natural cycles prominent in daily life. Seaweed supplies nitrogen, potassium and substantial phosphorus, which is vital for plant and human growth. Phosphorus cycles slowly through rock, organic matter, rivers and oceans, and underpins biological productivity. Past geological events released phosphorus into oceans, triggering biological booms; current human-driven changes are producing smaller-scale but similar effects.
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