--- title: "The World Is Running Out of Sand, Scientists Lament" description: "The United Nations Environment Program is warning that we are facing a \"sand crisis\" unless we put limits on and start regulating the extraction of sand." date: "2022-04-28" modified: "2022-04-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/world-running-out-of-sand" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "sand" - "the digest" - "united nations" --- # The World Is Running Out of Sand, Scientists Lament ![The United Nations Environment Program is warning that we are facing a "sand crisis" unless we put limits on and start regulating the extraction of sand.]() *\Image: Damian Gillie/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images\* ## Sand Crisis The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) [is warning]() that the world is facing a "sand crisis." The global demand for sand, the precursor for popular materials including glass and concrete, has surged over time thanks to increased urbanization and growing populations. In fact, according to a [new report]() by the UNEP, we could build a wall that's 88 feet wide and tall around the entire planet using the amount of sand the globe uses in one year. But its use is still almost entirely unregulated, [*Reuters* reports]() — despite it being the second most used resource worldwide after water — with the UNEP warning that we're consuming it much faster than the natural process that creates it. "To achieve sustainable development, we need to drastically change the way we produce, build and consume products, infrastructures and services," said Pascal Peduzzi, program coordinator for the report at UNEP, in [a statement](). "Our sand resources are not infinite, and we need to use them wisely." ## Losing Track Sand is also what allows countless different species of plants and animals to exist, meaning its overextraction contributes to the loss of biodiversity. Time is of the essence, Peduzzi made clear. "If we can get a grip on how to manage the most extracted solid material in the world, we can avert a crisis and move toward a circular economy," he added. Therefore, the UNEP recommends the incentivization of the use of viable alternatives, including crushed rock or other mining byproducts. A central authority or institution also needs to be established to keep track of our global use of sand, the report argues. "This isn't an issue that's relevant for only some places," ecologist Aurora Torres at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, [told *Reuters*]() last year. "Sand is a critical material for every country." **READ MORE:** [Sand crisis looms as world population surges, U.N. warns]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on sand:** *[Astronomers Say "Megaripples" Are Moving Across the Surface of Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()