Sand Wars
Sand Wars is a surprising investigation into one of the most consumed natural resources on the planet. Due to the high demand for sand, the planet's reserves are being threatened. Three-quarters of the world's beaches are in decline and bound to disappear as victims of erosion, or of sand smuggling.
Triggered by building construction, smuggling bands, or "sand mafias," plunder beaches and rivers for this highly prized commodity. Sand has quietly infiltrated every corner of our world. Melted and transformed into glass, it sits on every shelf. It is also the source of silicon dioxide, a mineral found in our wines, cleaning products and detergents, paper, dehydrated foods, toothpaste, cosmetics and an astounding variety of other products we use on a daily basis.
Houses, skyscrapers, bridges, airports, and sidewalks are all partially comprised of sand. It is an elementary particle that is the foundation of our modern development. Sand is seen as a free material, a staple of holidays spent on the shore, in unlimited supply. But is this omnipresent material inexhaustible? Can the available quantity match an ever-increasing demand that is constantly fed by the need for human lodging and expansion? What will be the consequences of sand extraction on the environment and life on the planet? Sand Wars will take us around the world to witness this new gold rush firsthand.
Written and directed by Denis Delestrac. Produced by Guillaume Rappeneau, Laurent Mini, Karim Samai and Nathalie Barton.
**WINNER of the Environmental and Wildlife Rockie Award at the 2014 Banff World Media Festival**
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If you are looking for a jaw dropping film on a little known subject, this film is for you. The world is running out of sand.... the shortage is so dire, that black markets have popped up in India, Asia,Africa.... Construction is the biggest user... for making concrete. Watch the film and ...Read more
If you are looking for a jaw dropping film on a little known subject, this film is for you. The world is running out of sand.... the shortage is so dire, that black markets have popped up in India, Asia,Africa.... Construction is the biggest user... for making concrete. Watch the film and see what is happening in Florida...Ft Lauderdale is not the wide beach I remember from Spring Break days, now its a thin strip. The beach is losing as much as 4 feet a year, and in some places there's little beach left.
Read lessAs a civilization, it's surprising how reliant we are upon sand in modern day life. As sand is such an important natural resource, it was disturbing to see the way sand is being mined and shipped around the world, having a devastating impact on our environment.
Look around. So much of the things around us are made from sand from buildings to the silicon chip in your phone. Each grain of sand is over 25,000 years old. Yet beaches are simply disappearing before our eyes…this story needed to be told.