Ep 56 – Beneath the Paving Stones, the Beach

Episode 56 - "Beneath the Paving Stones, the Beach" Beneath our paving stones, paved roads, walls, windows, computers, industry, and more, is a collection of hard material no larger than a speck. Sand is the fundamental building block of modern civilization, mined and extracted more than any other natural resource after water, and this fact should give us pause. Where does all this sand come from in the first place? What are the environmental consequences of sand mining? Most importantly, what happens when access to this most basic component of modern life begins to run out? Our modern civilization may pass, like sand through an hour glass. Chapters 02:42 Why Sand? 03:31 What is Sand and Where is it? 08:40 Why do we care about sand? 16:09 Some History 20:59 Economics of Sand Scarcity 28:05 Destructive nature of Sand Extraction 39:07 Sand Mafias 48:06 Tragedy of the Unmanaged Commons 58:50 The Best of Times? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Om Podcasten

Ashes Ashes is a podcast about the end of the world. Each week we explore a new systemic or apocalyptic issue that society is facing now or will have to deal with in the coming decades. Through this we hope to draw the listener to the conclusion that our overarching economic and political systems are inherently flawed. Once that fact is accepted, it's that much easier to do something about it. Find episodes, full transcripts, links, and more at https://ashesashes.org.