It's a small world after all, say scientists warning of sand scarcity

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | September 14, 2017 | Eoin O'Carroll

[Jagermonster]

SURFACING MODELS OF THOUGHT

Out of the complexity of the global sand trade has emerged something of a butterfly effect, in which an economic decision in one place can wreak social and environmental havoc on the other side of the world.

If you’re looking for a way to express something that’s staggeringly hard to count, you won’t find a more reliable metaphor than grains of sand.

There is indeed quite a bit of it – about 7.5 quintillion grains on Earth’s beaches and deserts, according to one estimate. But if you think that this would be sufficient to supply an ever-expanding global economy with all the concrete, asphalt, glass, and semiconductors it could possibly desire, think again.

Our consumption of sand is outpacing our understanding of the economics and environmental impacts of extracting, transporting, and consuming it, finds research published last Thursday in the journal Science. Out of the complexity of the global sand trade has emerged something of a butterfly effect, in which an economic decision in one place can wreak social and environmental havoc on the other side of the world. Using a holistic, interdisciplinary approach called telecoupling, the researchers’ analysis of the global sand trade opens a window into the global interconnection of human and natural systems.

“The demand is skyrocketing, and the supply is increasingly limited. And also the consequences, both the environmental and the socioeconomic impact, are enormous,” says Jianguo “Jack” Liu, director of Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability and a co-author of the paper.

Sand mafias and vanishing islands

Modern society is literally built on sand. Most of our buildings and bridges are made with concrete...

[Yaelle]

I’m not worried. I just bought $20,000 worth of rock credits from Algore.

[blam]

"Read Widlar’s bio. Sounds like a likable eccentric genius."

That's putting it mildly. He lost his DL for DUI. He would buy the drinks if I drove us around to the various bars like Walker's Wagon Wheel.
(Back in the good old days)