Our planet is amazing. Life on earth is super unique and just as unique are the ecosystems and chemical cycles that nurtures it. The water cycle creates clouds, rain, snow and our local weather. The carbon and nitrogen cycles form the mainstay of the food chain. For most of human civilisation we were in tune with these natural cycles until the industrial age began about 200 years ago. Since then our appetite for natural resources has been growing tremendously to the point that we are competing with nature but we are starting to realise the futility of this exploitation and we are also learning of other natural cycles that we are over exploiting with detrimental consequences.
I had never ever thought that sand could ever be an exhaustible commodity but it is. You can learn about it from this documentary posted on Youtube–Sand Wars. Sand is the base of modern construction. From roads to high-rises, glass to microchips and even solar panels the demand for sand is only growing as the resource diminishes faster than it can be produced. Nowadays all of our sand for construction comes from the sea and rivers since land based sand pit mines have been exhausted. Unfortunately our voracious appetite for concrete is causing problems for beaches. When sand is taken out from the sea and rivers beaches shrink. Coastlines creep inland is already threatening many beach front cities and villages all over the world with ocean inundation. Add in climate change's effects on sea level rise and the timeline for ocean front cities becoming threatened by sea inundation accelerates.
Sandy beaches like mangrove forests are barriers that keep the sea at bay. Losing beaches means more than losing fun recreational space because without these barriers waves from the sea can erode the land quite fast. Without ugly fortifications beach front cities like Miami can be eaten by the sea within a few years.
This is a well done and informative documentary. You will reconsider buying that dream beach house then again you might consider putting sand in your watch list for investment but what is more important is we need some good news on the environment. Sand trapped in concrete is lost to ecosystems while releasing ancient carbon trapped in Earth is transforming ecosystems we depend on badly for our sustenance. We need to leave nature alone.
When it comes to construction alternatives to sand is hard to find. Old concrete can be recycled but it is expensive. Our answer to sand should be to stop wasteful construction and there is a lot of these where entire cities and high-rises have been built all over the world but remain empty because they are just too expensive. These buildings have been built solely for investors to flip for profit but there is just not that many rich people to buy them all. Again greed is getting the better of us.
Sandy beaches like mangrove forests are barriers that keep the sea at bay. Losing beaches means more than losing fun recreational space because without these barriers waves from the sea can erode the land quite fast. Without ugly fortifications beach front cities like Miami can be eaten by the sea within a few years.
This is a well done and informative documentary. You will reconsider buying that dream beach house then again you might consider putting sand in your watch list for investment but what is more important is we need some good news on the environment. Sand trapped in concrete is lost to ecosystems while releasing ancient carbon trapped in Earth is transforming ecosystems we depend on badly for our sustenance. We need to leave nature alone.
When it comes to construction alternatives to sand is hard to find. Old concrete can be recycled but it is expensive. Our answer to sand should be to stop wasteful construction and there is a lot of these where entire cities and high-rises have been built all over the world but remain empty because they are just too expensive. These buildings have been built solely for investors to flip for profit but there is just not that many rich people to buy them all. Again greed is getting the better of us.
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