The world is running out of sand – and it could have a MUCH bigger impact on your life than you think
Sand - used in concrete, glass and brick - has become so scare that 'sand mafias' are killing people for control of it
IN recent years we have come to accept the harsh reality that we are stripping our planet of clean water, forests, oil and gas.
But sand - a crucial ingredient for almost everything we use in modern life - is also disappearing at an alarming rate.
The uses of sand are almost limitless and it is needed to manufacture concrete, glass, brick, agricultural soil mixes, fracking, paint and asphalt.
Experts are warning of "sand mafias" controlling black market operations in Indonesia for the increasingly valuable resource.
The current rate of extraction - about 59 billion tonnes a year - makes it the most mined resource on the planet.
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Incredibly, a year's worth of sand would create enough concrete to build a 90ft by 90ft wall all the way around the equator.
But rate of this extraction is stripping riverbeds, coastal communities and destroying entire eco-systems.
According to journalist Vince Beiser, this is because the number and size of cities around the world is "exploding".
According to the , since 1950, the world’s urban population has gone from 746 million to 3.9 billion.
Mr Beiser told the website: "To build those cities, people are pulling unprecedented amounts of sand out of the ground.
"Governments are cracking down in response - which in turn has spawned a worldwide black market in sand.
"In a shocking number of countries, people are being imprisoned, tortured and murdered over sand.
"Still, the amount of sand being mined worldwide is increasing—at terrible costs to people and the planet."
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