BK 15 (Sep 3, 2019): The World in a Grain - The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization

Hi Everyone...

Our September 3rd meeting will be a discussion of Vince Beiser's book The World In A Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization.

Many have not realized how vital a commodity sand is to our planet. Would you think it is so vital that 100s of people have been killed over it? When you stop to think what it is all used for, it begins to make sense. 

With 256 reading pages it is approximately 9 pages a day.

Check the Bio & Podcast/Video Below.

Here is an 8 min NPR interview with Vince Beiser.

And a Ted Talk here for you to watch!



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Here is what we discussed at the meeting...

* Everyone agreed it was an AMAZING Book and that we learned A LOT!!!

* I think we all agreed that we had no idea the issue with Sand being in such trouble and people's lives being lost for it. Also, that a variety of countries were building more land masses! Wow! (Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, The World, the Palm Jebel Ali & Palm Deira and other countries as well).  I know I didn't realize what sand was all used for! Certainly makes me look at the world differently. It is really amazing to me that the world is not aware of this & talking about this like other things like oil/pipelines etc. I too always thought beaches were being eroded by the water but to hear it is just being trucked away is just shocking. And to realize the life in the ocean being affected by the dredging of the sand also makes me sad. So much for "Progress," I think it may be a 2 steps forward 20 steps backwards each time. Sigh! This is certainly a book of information worth letting others know about!

* I did enjoy reading about the history of sand and our country being built (buildings, roads etc.). I had no idea the interstate was finally completed just in 1991 (20 years behind schedule). I think of all the roads built in my lifetime, what they were like when I was younger compared to now. To hear roads are safer today than in the past is something that makes me really think but I do feel the increase of cars and traffic compared to when I was  younger. I certainly did feel the numbers of those in the suburbs now compared to when I was little and do see so many more hotels and restaurants now than when we took vacations as a kid. We discussed the 50 lane wide highway linking Beijing with Hong Kong. Many commented the were not sure they'd want to drive on it! HA!

* I smiled when the book discussed fiberglass because I recall as a kid just after getting one of our new cars we at a stop light at the Museum of Science & Industry and 2 other cars got into an accident & ended up hitting us at the light. I remember looking at the damage later & seeing a bunch of "strings" and asking my dad what it was. :-)

* I question now what I should do...I switched from plastic containers to glass for food due to all the chemicals but now look at each glass worrying about the sand being used for it. Sigh! Then there is all the microchips for the technology I use...oh boy!

* I wasn't thrilled about fracking already but now to read how much sand is used in the process I'm even more against it. ("By 2016, total silica sand production stood at nearly 92 million tons per year, almost three-quarters of which was used for fracking. Only 7 percent went to the glass industry." p 122). Sigh!

* To read about all the silica dust which into the air again makes me wish more people knew about this & glad we are reading a book on pollution for our November meeting.

* We discussed all the water needed in the sand process also makes me concerned. The sand industry to me is very similar to the problems with the coal industry be it safety miners, resources used, waste products, health of miners etc.

* We discussed all the structures which are disintegrating and again not on a high priority list politically to get fixed (roads, dams etc).

* We discussed how fascinating it was learning about how Florida and spots like Miami Beach were created, though sad on how it destroyed other habitat. To think the beaches I visited as a child will not be there as I saw them for the children of the future makes me sad. And to hear how many times some beaches have been restored (38 times NJ Ocean City Beach & more than 50 times Virginia Beach p 159)  and how beach restoration harms the wildlife, again makes me want to tell everyone I know. I hope everyone who reads this book will talk to others about it and get them to read it and share it with others as well. People really need to know about this problem!

* It was interesting to read how all this concrete and asphalt is raising our planet's temperature..."some cities by as much as 19 degrees Fahrenheit" (p 222)..."and produces between 5 and 10 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions worldwide." (222) Again, I wondered why more people are not aware of this!

* We discussed the hope there is for the new "self-healing" methods are being created to fix cracks and recycling of sand. (p 244-245)