Globally, it’s estimated that we mine as much as 50 billion metric tonnes of sand every year to build our roads, bridges, skyscrapers, homes and more. Rapid urbanization around the world has made sand a high value commodity, so much so that, for some, it’s even worth killing for. But not all sand is the same, and experts say some mining operations are damaging ecosystems, infrastructure and putting people in danger around the world.
0:00 Intro
1:06 How the world uses sand
3:46 Inside the growing demand for sand
6:08 How the world mines sand
7:33 A look at the environmental effects of sand mining
9:20 Explaining sand mafias and cartels
11:14 Exploring alternative building materials
13:04 The future of sand and concrete
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29 Comments
Clarification: In the introduction of this piece we mention that sand is a key ingredient in cement, the material used to bind the aggregate together and form concrete. While silica sand is used to make cement in the form of silica fume, the amount of sand used in this process is small in comparison to the amount of silica sand used as the aggregate. We intended to say that “Sand is a key ingredient in concrete,” as sand makes up around 80% of the volume of concrete as an aggregate.
we need mass transit.
lowkey reminds me of when u mine a lot of sand in minecraft and your rivers and beaches gets fucked. videogames be teaching climate change these days
so is it soo hard to make the sand ourselves? Brake racks till the rocks become sand.
Watched the whole video but I still don't understand what is the environmental crisis from river-mining sand. From the segment at 7.33,
– How would mining of dry riverbeds cause the river to die?
– Why are deepening of rivers a bad thing? Many rivers suffer from sediment build up, causing floods. This literally increases the capacity of the river to hold more water.
– Why is sediment not reaching the sea a bad thing?
China now has a forced 3 child policy for all ccp members.
I remember how someone said that if communists will run the Sahara desert they will get a shortage of sand. Now capitalists run the world and we run out of sand. What an irony.
Fear, fear,,,,,,,,,,typical of what we expect from (educated?) fools.
Your hit job on Fox is pathetic.
Not to mention things like solar panels and electronics are made from sand as well.
very good docu… this is well put together, such an insightful vid .. keep it up!
Why not just use all the MF ( Manufactured Fines ) from aggregate operations in Canada and the US, ship it to countries that need it. It's a by-product of rock crushing that doesn't get used all the time and it's piled up. Everything grows out of it. Sometimes the piles turn green.
Why can't we crush rock to make sand???
The only way for mankind to "consume" less is for economies to contract. And if that happens people suffer. So the well being of people is dependent on exploiting the resources of the earth. It will be extremely difficult to do both at the same time. I have no faith in mankind managing earths resources responsibly and sustainably.
I wish all of the climate change alarmists would have seen this video. This is a genuine crisis. It is not subjective it is something that you can see and touch, unlike other so-called crisis like climate change. Climate change has another name it’s called seasons
There has to be a better alternative to using sand for construction, like Hempcrete or M Sand. There's got to be a better way!
good sharing, but what 1st world thinks and do don't applied to the 3rd world. As all companies want cheap sands and won't invest in any advanced or good infrastructure for getting the sands. You guys are enjoying your life but we 3rd world are suffered as we depends on you guys to survive. 3rd nation people and environment won't get the same treatment from the 1st nation, we only cares how to survive on day to day basis and have no time thinking about environment impact after 30 yrs.
Humans equal monkeys running hog wild, and breeding like the dumb animals that they are. But never worry humans have democracy to proliferate organized crime.
Why don't you mine sand in the Sahara Desert?
LOL…………when are we going to realize, that there are, simply, too many people on the planet?
Hahahahaa let’s sand the moon
Ask a Indian from tamilnadu sand usage is banned and those who can get it illegally it's super expensive
this is overrated. sand is sustainable, I will believe on this video if they can measure how depth the sand of the river sea or land.
Can't sand be simply replaced by crushing large rocks? In theory at least.
Build a planetary resource distribution sector specifically designed to ensure our resourced are not being abused by companies and establishments who display a lack of responsibility. In fact something similar should have been invented decades ago. Such actions would inhibit greedy grabbing ego fools from creating to much damage.
If Liberals didn’t have anything to Complain about…They’d Actually be Called “Progressives”…but they’re Not, & that’s All they Do is Complain & Over regulate.
Thank you for educating us about the use of sand n violence behind it.
Please continue this guidance so we can leave peaceful world for our children.
J surender singsl
EVERY DAM DAY ,, MOTHER EARTH GETS RAPED BY 8 billion people killing habitats — TO MANY PEOPLE ! ❤️❤️🌎❤️❤️
poor audio quality
All so we can build these huge hideous skyscrapers that only a handful of people can afford to live in… If god was real, I’m sure he’d be whooping our asses right now for the mess we’re making of the world. Its all downhill from here.