#17 Vince Beiser | Sand: The Most Important Natural Resource In The World

Vince Beiser joined me on the podcast recently. He is the author of The World In A Grain: The Story Of Sand.

Sand is the most important solid substance on Earth. It is not an exaggeration to assert that without it we don't have our modern civilisation.

Sand is the building block of modernity. It is the foundational input for cement, glass and even silicon, the stuff that builds our computer chips. Without sand, we cannot construct the awesome buildings that we do. We would not have the wonderful aesthetics and functionality of glass that we have. And we would, one could argue most importantly, not even be able to produce the semi-conductors which are so integral to our computers and therefore modern civilisation.

"Sand is to cities, what flour is to bread" Vince Beiser, author of the book - The World In A Grain: The Story Of Sand.

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00:00 - Introduction.
01:20 - How A Murder Drew Vince To Write A Book About Sand.
06:21 - How Sand Is The Most Important Substance On Earth.
08:54 - Different Gradations Of Sand.
12:06 - Does Sand Limitations Stifle The Promise Of Solar?
17:01 - Explaining How Sand Mining Decimates The Environment.
21:06 - Examples Of Where Sand Mining Has Caused Environmental Damage.
31:05 - Vince's Experience In One Of China's Largest Ghost Cities.
35:07 - How Much Sand Is There In The World?
38:20 - Do You Have Any Insight Into Why Spruce Pine Are So Secretive? 
40:15 - What About Sand Is Vince Most Passionate About?
43:12 - A Quick Word On What The World Would Look Like If We Never Invented Concrete.
48:13 - The Role Of Sand In Fracking.
52:35 - The Geopolitics Of Sand In The South-China Sea.
58:24 - What Country Are You Most Bullish On?
59:11 - Which Two People, Dead Or Alive, Would You Like To Witness A Conversation Between?
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Links To Vince Beiser's Work

Vince Beiser Website - vincebeiser.com 
The World In A Grain: The Story Of Sand & How It Transformed Civilisation - https://www.amazon.com/World-Grain-Story-Transformed-Civilization/dp/0399576428
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