Often seen as merely a complimentary ingredient of beach vacations, sand is considered by many as an afterthought.

Yet those seemingly insignificant grains surround almost every single aspect of our lives, from skyscrapers to airplanes, from wine to computer chips, to optical fiber, cell phones, toothpaste, and almost everything in between.

But sand is not an infinite resource, and the planet’s gigantic demand for it is threatening its very existence. From illegal sand mining to sand smuggling to construction booms that put a bounty on gathering illegal sand, "Sand Wars" investigates this modern day “gold rush,” one that poses a real danger to humans, and the environment, around every corner of the globe.

As the demand for sand continues rising, countries like China have banned sand mining operations in certain areas, to curtail the effects it was having on rivers.

NASA satellite images show how the Yangtze River dredging changed the river’s shape, prompting authorities to forbid dredging in certain areas of the water body: https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=87663

Sand Mining at Poyang Lake

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.