大象传媒

Sand is the material which shapes our modern world - from concrete buildings, asphalt roads, even glass windows and silicon chips in our laptops and smartphones, they all depend on this crucial ingredient. As demand has rocketed, sand has become an increasingly lucrative commodity. Vince Beiser is the author of 'The World in Grain: The Story of Sand and How it Transformed Civilization'

(Picture: A worker fills buckets with sand at a construction site ; Credit: Reuters)