Sand Wars

I think most would agree that our sand beaches all around the World are being 'eroded' away.

The main explanations given for this seems to be due to coastal development and rising sea levels with a pinch of climate change.
I'm not disagreeing that these are not true. However, I have just finished watching this documentary below and it suggests that there is another reason, that sounds obvious, but I had never really gave it much thought... WE NEED SAND!

Every house, skyscraper and glass building, every bridge, airport and sidewalk in our modern society depends on sand. We use it to manufacture optical fibre, cell phone components and computer chips. We find it in our toothpaste, powdered foods and even in our glass of wine (both the glass and the wine, as a fining agent)!

Based on encounters with sand smugglers, barefoot millionaires, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous real estate developers and environmentalists, this investigation takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “SAND WARS” have begun...

PLEASE IGNORE THE TITLE OF THE VIDEO!
It has nothing to do with a flat Earth and highlights a serious problem with video evidence.



Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fuelled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighbouring populations?

a reply to: 83Liberty

Your concerns are justified.

Only some sands are suitable for the construction industry, for example for making concrete. Because of the growth of population and of cities and the consequent construction activity there is a huge demand for these special kinds of sand, and natural sources are running low.

en.wikipedia.org...

Concrete? made of sand. Glass? Made of sand. Our society is made of sand and we don't even realise it!

S&F for the very good point.

a reply to: 83Liberty

This is crazy! And new information to me. Simply, wow. There's areas being ecologically destroyed, which is, in turn, destroying the liveability of the areas. Beaches ruined, fruit trees producing less and drinking water affected by salt water seepage, land eroding, etc. Thanks for bringing this one up!

Found an interesting article here

With laws prohibiting the extraction of sand from rivers in many places, it has become a black market good. Hardly a day passes without Indian newspapers reporting on the dealings of the "sand mafia". "We only hear of the consequences when a textile factory collapses in Bangladesh," Dill says. "People aren't building on sand there anymore," and without sand, the ground isn't stable enough.

They put it beneath road beds and airport runways, too. Imagine how many miles of that being laid every year?

"They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot." --Joan Baez

I think that video includes an estimate of how long it took to make the sand on all the beaches in the world from wave action. Astronmical time span.

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: 83Liberty

Your concerns are justified.

Only some sands are suitable for the construction industry, for example for making concrete. Because of the growth of population and of cities and the consequent construction activity there is a huge demand for these special kinds of sand, and natural sources are running low.

en.wikipedia.org...

Concrete? made of sand. Glass? Made of sand. Our society is made of sand and we don't even realise it!

S&F for the very good point.

Yeah. Abu Dhabi is buying construction sand from Australia to build their skyscrapers and new islands.

They can't use the desert sand nearby for construction as it's too smooth.
They need to use beach sand which has a more rigid shape.

a reply to: 83Liberty

No worries.Here in N. Germany, there is nothing but sand.Trillions and trillions of tonnes of the stupid stuff.Zillions and bazillions of tonnes.

Barely any clay, hardly any stone.Just sand.

I got some sand for sale.
The Mojave desert is full of sand.

Did anyone actually watch the whole documentary? I appreciate it's quite a long one, but it really is well put together and shows you evidence of Sand Wars, the impact it has on the environment, wildlife and communities.

This is a serious issue, beaches are disappearing all over the globe, particularly in Asia.

These big corporations are going around dredging the sea bed close to sand beaches to collect sand for construction.
This results in the sand on the beach slowly getting washed out to sea to replace the sand which was stolen.

To the replies that say we already have plenty of sand, nothing to worry about.
Did you not read the other responses? You can't just use any sand for construction, particularly not desert sand.

I've noticed the video in the OP isn't working anymore but I have found this excellent short documentary trailer highlighting the problem if anyone is interested in this subject...

I'm happy to report than nature has a way to bring the sand back to our shores.

The beach on the island of Achill, western Ireland, vanished after storms in 1984, leaving only rock pools left behind, devastating the local village's economy.

But a freak tide in April this year has dumped hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand onto the rocks and now they have a 300 meter long beach!

www.dailymail.co.uk...