If someone were to ask you to name the most-extracted materials on Earth, you might answer – fossil fuels or biomass. However, by weight, the answer is actually sand and gravel. Picture sand and most people think of seas, river deltas, deserts and endless miles of beaches – a never-ending resource that seemingly will last forever. However, the exploitation of sand, caused by increased urbanization and unregulated mining of this global resource has already caused environmental damage, endangering communities, impacted water supplies and caused violent conflict. Over the years, very little thought has gone into the socioeconomic and environmental impacts sand mining may have on a region or community. Sand, an unflashy and seemingly infinite resource, is the chief ingredient in cement and the hidden hand behind the explosion of cities worldwide Sand used in urban development Sand is a key ingredient in concrete, glass, asphalt, and electronics, making […]