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  • Beiser, Vince, author.
     
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  •  The World in a grain...
     
     
     
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    The World in a grain : the story of sand and how it transformed civilization / Vince Beiser.
    by Beiser, Vince, author.
    New York : Riverhead Books, 2018.
    Description: 
    294 pages ; 24 cm
    Contents: 
    The most important solid substance on Earth -- Part I. How sand built the twentieth century's industrialized world. The skeleton of cities ; Paved with good intentions ; The thing that lets us see everything -- Part II. How sand is building the twenty-first century's globalized, digital world. High tech, high purity ; Fracking facilitator ; Miami Beach-less ; Man-made lands ; Desert war ; Concrete conquers the city ; Beyond sand.
    Summary: 
    The gripping story of the most important overlooked commodity in the world -- sand -- and the crucial role it plays in our lives. After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other -- even more than oil. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, is made from sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to the smartphone in your hand, sand shelters us, connects us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives -- and our future. And, incredibly, we're running out of it. The World in a Grain is the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it -- and sometimes, even kill for it. It's also a provocative examination of the little-noticed, but deadly serious human and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand.
    It's the most overlooked commodity in the world: sand is in every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip. Sand shelters us, connects us, and inspires us. And, incredibly, we're running out of it. Beiser shares the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it-- and sometimes, even kill for it. -- adapted from jacket
    Except for water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other-more than oil, more than natural gas. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, exists because of sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to Chihuly sculptures to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives-and our future. And we're running out of it. The World in a Grainis the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more important every day, and some of the people who use it, sell it, recycle it, and destroy it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human and environmental costs surrounding sand and the profound global significance, which has received little public attention. Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world, explaining why sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter sand pirates, become aware of child sand miners, and learn that not all sand is created equal- Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving, full of fascinating detail and populated by surprising people.
    Genre: 
    Nonfiction.
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    LocationCollectionCall No.CopyStatus 
    Calmar Campus LibraryCirculation Stacks (Calmar)620.191 Bei2018Checked InAdd Copy to MyList

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