The world is suddenly discovering we are running out of sand, according to the New Yorker.
Sand, known as "aggregate" in the industrial world and includes gravel, crushed stone, and various recycled materials, is the world's second most heavily exploited natural resource, after water, "and for many uses, the right kind is scarce or inaccessible," the New Yorker's David Owen wrote.
Owen points to a 2014 United Nations Environment Program report, "Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks," that concluded the mining of sand and gravel "greatly exceeds natural renewal rates" and "the amount being mined is increasing exponentially, mainly as a result of rapid economic growth in Asia."
In the United States, the fastest-growing uses include the fortification of shorelines eroded by rising sea levels and more and more powerful ocean storms, Owen reported.
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6 comments:
I guess the Delmarva peninsula just got more valuable, since it's all sand.
Plenty of sand in the Sahara. Sounds like a great business opportunity for Africa.
And this study cost how much?
I just did a study since reading this and will throw it in free. Results are we will never run out of bull crap.
When we send Hillary to prison she will be pounding rocks into sand
OMG, no Ocean City will be selling sand for cash! This greedy city has a price for everything, now it can rent the sand and could even sell it!
Bullship!
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