On-board a sand dredger, offshore Miami. Photo courtesy of: “Sand Wars” Award-Winning Filmmaker: © Denis Delestrac (2013).
Excerpts;
With king tides, persistent winds and large waves from Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Joaquin making erosion particularly bad this year, the demand for sand is high – but is it possible we could run out?
“Sand isn’t a renewable resource,” said Stephen Leatherman, a professor of coastal sciences at Florida International University. “We’ve already dredged up most of the easy, cheap sand…”
Read Full Article, Sun sentinel
Where Sand Is Gold, the Reserves Are Running Dry, The New York Times (08-26-2013)
Sand Shortage Leaves South Florida Beaches Vulnerable to Erosion, Tampa Bay Times (08-19-2013)
Palm Beach Mid-Town Dredge Project, A Youtube Video (02-04-2015)
“Beach nourishment projects like this have become commonplace along the US East and Gulf Coasts. These projects have immediate environmental impacts through burial of nearshore habitat and increased turbidity during project placement.The cumulative environmental impacts of doing this repeatedly on the same beach while conducting projects from Maine to Texas is unknown. But, we should be concerned. ” —Robert S. Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University
Is Beach Renourishment Worth The Money? WWAY News (02-16-2015)
Waikiki Beach Eroding Less Than A Year After $2.2M Sand Restoration, Pacific Business News (Uploaded 01-24-2013)
A section of Hawaii’s famed Waikiki Beach is starting to erode, less than a year after the completion of a $2.2 million project to replenish the sand on about 1,730 feet of shoreline that had been suffering from chronic erosion.
“The Beaches Are Moving,” A Video featuring Orrin Pilkey, PhD
World famous coastal geologist Orrin H. Pilkey takes us to the beach and explains why erosion has become a problem…
“Sand Wars,” An Investigation Documentary, By Denis Delestrac
Based on encounters with sand smugglers, barefoot millionaires, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous real estate developers and environmentalists, this investigation takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “Sand Wars” have begun.
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report (March 2014)
Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public…
