Posted on 08/24/2015 11:17:33 AM PDT by Lorianne
Civilisation is built on sand – literally. It's been a critical component of construction and progress since ancient times. In the 15th century an Italian artisan figured out how to turn it into the transparent glass that made it possible to make the microscopes, telescopes and other technologies that helped drive the Renaissance's scientific revolution. Sand is an essential ingredient in detergents, cosmetics, toothpaste, solar panels, windows, silicon chips and buildings; every concrete structure around the world is basically sand and gravel glued together with cement.
Apart from water and air, humble sand is the natural resource most consumed by human beings. People use more than 36 billion tonnes of sand and gravel every year. But not just any sand will do: desert sand, shaped by wind rather than water, is too round to bind together for construction.
In fact, only sand worn by water is suitable. And the worldwide construction boom of recent years -- all those megacities, from Lagos to Beijing -- is devouring unprecedented quantities. Extracting sand is a £45-billion industry. In Dubai, huge land-reclamation projects and breakneck skyscraper construction have exhausted all nearby sources, so insatiable construction companies now look elsewhere for their supply. Exporters in Australia are actually selling sand to Arabs.
As land quarries and riverbeds become tapped out, sand miners are turning to the seas, where ships vacuum huge amounts of the stuff from ocean floors. As you might expect, this all wreaks havoc on ecosystems. Sand mines in the US are blamed for beach erosion, water and air pollution and other ills from the California coast to Wisconsin's lakes. India's Supreme Court recently warned that riparian sand mining is undermining bridges and killing birds and fish all over the country. But regulations are scant and the will to enforce them is lacking.
(Excerpt) Read more at wired.co.uk ...
it's these obscure things that help round out our thinking while we try to determine who's doing what and what can WE do to understand and respond ?
Thanx.
BTTT
...and, as a further example of the effects of sand on Western Civilization, it has been found that the heads of most liberals are completely filled with unprocessed sand.
The wise man built his house upon the rock. The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
Were running out of sand!
We need a sand tax!
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