“A World Without”: Global Sand Crisis

By Julian Hayda
INSIDE THE SALT MINES
In this Jan. 27, 2017 photo, American Rock Salt Co. loaders work a road salt pile at the mine in Hampton Corners, N.Y. Deep below upstate New York’s farm country, workers in ghostly tunnels are praying for snow. Fiercer winters mean better business, longer hours and fatter paychecks at what’s billed as the nation’s most productive salt mine, which ships trainloads of snow-melting road salt to municipalities across the Northeast. Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP Photo
INSIDE THE SALT MINES
In this Jan. 27, 2017 photo, American Rock Salt Co. loaders work a road salt pile at the mine in Hampton Corners, N.Y. Deep below upstate New York’s farm country, workers in ghostly tunnels are praying for snow. Fiercer winters mean better business, longer hours and fatter paychecks at what’s billed as the nation’s most productive salt mine, which ships trainloads of snow-melting road salt to municipalities across the Northeast. Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP Photo

“A World Without”: Global Sand Crisis

By Julian Hayda
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We continue Worldview’s limited series, “A World Without”, revisiting a conversation on the global sand crisis. Many of us think of sand as an infinitely bountiful mineral . However, the things we use sand for the most, like concrete, glass, electronics, and roads, require a specific type of sand that is more and more in demand. This has led to organized crime rings  around sand. Many countries have banned sand exports over environmental concerns. Sand exploitation has even shifted to the developing world. To discuss the global sand shortage, we’re joined by Jodi Brandt, assistant professor of Human Environment Systems at Boise State University. She co-authored the articles, “A looming tragedy of the sand commons” in Science Magazine, and “The world is facing a global sand crisis” in The Conversation.