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Is the world really running out of sand?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] If you have to know the answer right away, it’s no; or at least, my goal with this video is to convince you that the world is not running out of sand. But if it were that simple, I wouldn’t be here (right?) and you probably woul
In his book, Beiser calls sand “the most important solid substance on earth…the literal foundation of modern civilization…” We use it to make glass, semiconductors, fiber optics, filters, and abrasives, use it to texture surfaces, to play in, for beauty, and more. It can be more expensive to manufacture sand compared to mining raw materials that can be put directly in a mix, especially when you factor in the other ingredients, like chemical admixtures, that might be required to make it more workable without adding too much water. I’m pointing out these examples, not to say they’re good or bad - there are pros and cons in both cases - but just to illustrate how our demand for materials in the construction industry changes with the supply, and how technology can have a huge impact on that.
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