Why Sand Is Disappearing ; By John R. Gillis

To those of us who visit beaches only in summer, they seem as permanent a part of our natural heritage as the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes. But shore dwellers know differently. Beaches are the most transitory of landscapes, and sand beaches the most vulnerable of all.

Sand mining: The High Volume – Low Value Paradox

Given the rapid rate of urbanization and the current rate of extraction of sand for construction, and the silent devastation left behind in its wake, the modern process of assigning value, economic or otherwise to this resource seems sadly inchoate and needs to be re-evaluated… By Kiran Pereira.

Australian Government’s Great Barrier Reef Plans’ Questioned

A monitoring mission from the UN educational and cultural arm, UNESCO, will visit Queensland next month to examine concerns about major port developments and other potential threats to the World Heritage listed reef, as WWF challenged the Australian Government’s view that the Great Barrier Reef is being sustainably managed, citing publications showing that coral had declined by up to 50 per cent.