Sand Smugglers: The Violent Black Market Building Modern Megacities

The rapid expansion of the modern global economy relies entirely on concrete and glass, both of which require an astronomical, ceaseless supply of a very specific natural resource: sand. While deserts hold infinite amounts of sand, its grains are too smooth for industrial construction. The world is rapidly running out of the jagged, water-eroded sand necessary to build skyscrapers, highways, and s...