Endangered supply

Why We Should Worry About Sand Demand

Sand isn’t just sand. Beach volleyball usually cannot be played on a beach because the sand is too firm. Instead, ideal volleyball sand lets players bury their ankles. Meanwhile, solar panels, smartphone screens, and computer chips use high-purity silica sand. By contrast, coarse sand with its large particles has the right texture for construction. But before that, builders need compactible fill sand to form an even base under a structure’s concrete foundation. People need sand for roads, volleyball, computers, and glass, but so too do ecosystems for filtering water, preserving habitats, and preventing erosion. ….[READ]