Sand Wars

Most of us think of sand as a necessary ingredient for any beach vacation. Yet those seemingly insignificant grains of silica surround our daily lives. Every house, skyscraper and glass building, every bridge, airport and sidewalk in our modern society depends on sand. We use it to manufacture optical fiber, cell phone components and computer chips. We find it in our toothpaste, powdered foods and even our wine (both the glass and the wine, as a fining agent)! Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment? Based on encounters with sand smugglers, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous real estate developers and environmentalists, this investigation by award-winning director Denis Delestrac takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “sand wars” have begun.