Beneath the Paving Stones, the Beach—Sand mining for fracking, construction & roads—Ashes Ashes #56
Channel: Stop Fossil Fuels
Date: 2019-01-15

Beneath our paving stones, paved roads, walls, windows, computers, industry, and more, is a collection of hard material no larger than a speck. Sand is the fundamental building block of modern civilization, mined and extracted more than any other natural resource after water, and this fact should give us pause. Where does all this sand come from in the first place? What are the environmental consequences of sand mining? Most importantly, what happens when access to this most basic component of modern life begins to run out? Our modern civilization may pass, like sand through an hour glass.

Podcast by Ashes Ashes, reposted under CC License. Browse episode resources & read full transcript at https://ashesashes.org/blog/episode-56-beneath-the-paving-stones-the-beach

Stop Fossil Fuels researches and disseminates effective strategies and tactics to halt fossil fuel combustion as fast as possible. Learn more at https://stopfossilfuels.org


CHAPTERS

02:42 Why Sand?
03:31 What is Sand and Where is it?
08:40 Why do we care about sand?
16:09 Some History
20:59 Economics of Sand Scarcity
28:05 Destructive nature of Sand Extraction
39:07 Sand Mafias
48:06 Tragedy of the Unmanaged Commons
58:50 The Best of Times?