Singapore’s Sand Problem

  Рет қаралды 200,577

Asianometry

Asianometry

Күн бұрын

Sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and yet we just can’t get enough of it.
In 2018, Singapore was the world's biggest importer of sand by value. Each year, the country consumes over 5 tons of sand per resident.
Over the past twenty years, they have imported over 500 million tons of sand.
And with these sand imports, Singapore has created massive amounts of wealth for itself and its people.
But the sand has to come from somewhere. Its mass removal has big environmental impacts, and has opened the country up to criticism.
But is it even possible to replace sand? That’s what we are going to talk about in this video.
Links:
- The Asianometry Newsletter: asianometry.com
- Patreon: / asianometry
- The Podcast: anchor.fm/asianometry
- Twitter: / asianometry

Пікірлер: 558
@user-cz9ss4yq4x
@user-cz9ss4yq4x Жыл бұрын
"In the world of sand sales, solid information is hard to come by" 😂😂😂
@MatthewHolevinski
@MatthewHolevinski Жыл бұрын
"however sand mining is a charged subject" 😆
@1.4142
@1.4142 Жыл бұрын
Is it just me or were the images super grainy?
@nvelsen1975
@nvelsen1975 Жыл бұрын
The information used to be rock-solid long ago, but it ended up split up into tiny bits.
@MatthewHolevinski
@MatthewHolevinski Жыл бұрын
This has resulted in some sinking issues, but the idea still stands.
@frankchan4272
@frankchan4272 Жыл бұрын
Puns will sink this comment.
@izzieb
@izzieb Жыл бұрын
He's finally dune it, he's finally made a video about sand. He shore has some interesting topics for videos.
@AllocatorsAsia
@AllocatorsAsia Жыл бұрын
I agree, this topic on sand dredging is really groundbreaking research
@ZE0XE0
@ZE0XE0 Жыл бұрын
he's only just touched the surface of the world of sand. Fracking sand is a huge industry too and has very limited supplies since it needs a very particular sand shape which is not common.
@andrewradford3953
@andrewradford3953 Жыл бұрын
Though some of the islands are a bit rubbish, or all rubbish.
@tygerbyrn
@tygerbyrn Жыл бұрын
Shore ‘nuff!
@andersjjensen
@andersjjensen Жыл бұрын
Ahem... didn't you forget the obligatory "I'll see myself out" at the end of that barage? :P
@andersjjensen
@andersjjensen Жыл бұрын
From the ultra pure sand used to make silicon wafers to the very-specific-size-grain sand used for concrete... thrown in with a Star Wars sand reference. Yup, Jon, you've become a Sand Nerd :P
@dojokonojo
@dojokonojo Жыл бұрын
UYURGH UYRRRGH UUUUUURGHHH. That's Sand People speak for NERRRRD
@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx
@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx Жыл бұрын
Sand + water makes clay which's the bedrock of all civilizations
@gljames24
@gljames24 Жыл бұрын
@@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx No, clay is a completely different component of regolith. Clay, silt and sand are distinct chemically and in particle size.
@andersjjensen
@andersjjensen Жыл бұрын
@@gljames24 It's no use to speak science to people who talk about Adam and Eve.. and even misquotes the lore...
@Asianometry
@Asianometry Жыл бұрын
I love sand and water.
@manitoublack
@manitoublack Жыл бұрын
I'm curious why a mix of rock and sand isn't used. As a mining engineer in Australia. We could send them untold volumes of NAF (Non Acid Forming) crushed waste rock from any number of mines in whatever size they want for penny's on the $$. I mean, presently it's just being dumped on the waste rock pile. It's already blasted and stockpiled. It literally has no value here. In fact it represents a significant cost to keep expanding the waste rock dump. Thus if someone wanted to pay transport it would represent a cost saving here. Would surly reduce the volume of sand required and provide a more stable foundation it a blend was used.
@flamingorentals6819
@flamingorentals6819 Жыл бұрын
I'd reckon that shipping substantial amounts of sand over land would just not be competitive, even if the sand itself was free.
@alfyryan6949
@alfyryan6949 Жыл бұрын
I've been thinking the same thing
@alfyryan6949
@alfyryan6949 Жыл бұрын
@@grapesurgeon I suppose it's then a just question of cost, and new developments will take some time to become cheap
@Infrared73
@Infrared73 Жыл бұрын
@@grapesurgeon For use in cement, sure, but for reclaiming land?
@jasonbourne6531
@jasonbourne6531 Жыл бұрын
Is not suitable for land reclaimation, need to use sand and not just any kind of sand.. if any kind of sand can be used, then Singapore wont have this sand problem because saudi arabia have tons of sand but those are not suitable for use.
@THEEck5000
@THEEck5000 Жыл бұрын
It’s crazy how interconnected and complex and specialized our civilization is. Makes you realize how fragile it all is.
@autohmae
@autohmae Жыл бұрын
At least some people are starting to get it now,...
@chickensoup9869
@chickensoup9869 Жыл бұрын
Your school scammed you 💀
@billybiljun3416
@billybiljun3416 Жыл бұрын
This reminds me about pears that were cultivated in Chile, packaged in China, sold in USA.
@arthas640
@arthas640 Жыл бұрын
@@billybiljun3416 well yeah, pears have a short growing season and spoil fairly quickly, especially the sweeter dessert pears. Chile being in the southern hemisphere experiences summer when the northern hemisphere has winter so their pears get ripe when pear demand is at its highest globally. China specializes in packaging and low cost manufacturing and is the worlds leading consumer of things like plastics like those used in packaging so it's more cost effective to buy south American pears and package them in China. They grow them in the cheapest place they can, package them in the cheapest place they can, and sell them in the highest paying place they can. The alternative would be to pay 10x as much to grow them in greenhouses in America and spend a fortune to store them in the US all winter so they could be sold year round.
@SafeAndEffectiveTheySaid
@SafeAndEffectiveTheySaid 11 ай бұрын
It is solid as a house of cards
@HexerPsy
@HexerPsy Жыл бұрын
The benefit of the polder model from the Netherlands, is that you expose fertile soil to the air. Inland lakes were pumped dry with windmills centuries ago (1400s a few and mostly took off after the 1500s). The ground is then available for agriculture. The cities founded in polders, then become major economic centers today; the 4 largest cities in the Netherlands today are below or at sea level today. Half the country would flood if the dykes disappeared over night. However, the images show in the video are from a different project. A major inland bay was dyked off with a major piece of construction at the mouth of the bay (1933). It allows regulating its water flow, to prevent the sea from bringing in salt water as the tide rises. The inland lake is filled with river water, which left a rich clay sediment at the bottom of the new lake. Around the same time this large landmass was dyked off (1924), adding the 12th province to the Netherlands. Later a second landmass (13:58 image in the video) was reclaimed. What is supposed to become the 2nd largest airport for the Netherlands, has been build on this reclaimed land, but is yet to open. Reclaiming land at the sea is entirely different, since sand is a poor soil for agriculture. The Netherlands is a river delta, where long rivers deposit clay on the bottom of bays. Your best application of sandy reclaimed land is usually construction or housing. And nobody in their right mind would dyke off an area with fertile clay and dump sand on it to raise the land level... The Netherlands happens to benefit from the these clay deposites and was able to quickly convert a salty sea bay into agricultural land. However... the number of people that moved here cant even support a major hospital financially... Its main hospital went bankrupt a few years ago.
@autohmae
@autohmae Жыл бұрын
The hospital bankrupt has always sounded to me like a management problem or hubris. That said, I worry we'll have to build some really large Delta Works this time. I think a country like Bangladesh might not be able to afford to do the same and will just disappear ?
@HexerPsy
@HexerPsy Жыл бұрын
@@autohmae The hospital went backrupt after poor financial management put it at risk, and a decrease in the number of patients left it unable to pay its employees. And that then led bankrupsy was declared, as insurers withdrew financial support. However, its not the first regional hospital in the last 10 years that had issues with its financial position. The Red Cross hospital in Beverwijk was about to close its ER department around 2014, which meant ambulances would have to drive a lot further to get treatment for emergency patients. Thankfully some party invested in it; cant remember the details too well; I was only an intern back then ^^" There are some methods of building natural dykes by laying down a long, gentle slope and growing plants on the beaches. The underlying idea being that the sea lays down sediment with its waves and a natural dune rises. There are some technical universities working on sustainable sollutions, given you are willing to redesign the entire coast and river line... But we would be converting our beaches into mangroves essentially... But inland we would also have to rise the dykes along rivers - or build such natural dunes/dykes along the rivers. We would have to remove housing for about 2km or more to have this effect occur naturally. But if we build dykes by hand, the costs go up exponentially with their height. At some point these costs will be too much, and floods and storms will occasionally flood residential areas, causing people to move inland. Bangladesh... I am not too familiar with their country. It seems their river delta makes the issue highly complex. Doesnt Bangladesh already experience significant flooding regularly due to the variability of the river levels and heavy rains? I cant comment too much on it, since I clearly dont know enough.
@MrViki60
@MrViki60 Жыл бұрын
"Half the country would flood if the dykes disappeared over night" Please God, make it happen.
@arthas640
@arthas640 Жыл бұрын
I was kind of shocked he glazed over that fact while pointing out that it had been done in Asia "for decades".
@boots7859
@boots7859 Жыл бұрын
Not many people in the world can make a 15 min. presentation on sand so interesting.
@evil1knight
@evil1knight Жыл бұрын
I love how diverse your videos are, subbed for cpu videos but keep coming back for the interesting other topics
@allypocock
@allypocock Жыл бұрын
When I saw the title of this one, I knew it was an immediate winner - fantastic video, it’s exactly one of those “you don’t even know that this was a problem; here’s why you’re wrong, it matters” *chefs kees*
@max.the.imperor
@max.the.imperor Жыл бұрын
I have just returned from 3 days camping on sand beach and have sand everywhere. I hate sand now. Otherwise, cool topic for video!
@NazriB
@NazriB Жыл бұрын
Lies again? Serie A Leader San Siro
@Alozhatos
@Alozhatos Жыл бұрын
Singapore sand issue. I still remember how contentious this issue in Malaysia.
@boonyee4421
@boonyee4421 Жыл бұрын
+Alozhatos There is nothing Singapore can do if her larger Malay neighbours in Indonesia and Malaysia refuse to sell sand to this tiny Chinese nation. Because the prerogative lies with them.
@Eastwyrm
@Eastwyrm Жыл бұрын
The sand market is just so hard to grasp, the data so granular!
@Theo-Sanders
@Theo-Sanders Жыл бұрын
Great video as usual. But a minor factual error in here. "Marine Parade HDB apartments now regularly sell for millions of SGD$ now". That is incorrect. Only last month did Marine Parade have its first ever 7-digit sale, when a single unit changed hands for S$1.01M. It's rare enough that when it happens, that it makes the local news. I suspect you may be confusing this with private condos in the general vicinity.
@arthas640
@arthas640 Жыл бұрын
I was about to look that up because I've heard that normal apartments aren't quite as expensive as one would think when looking at a Manhattan style ultra wealthy island city.
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un Жыл бұрын
I was in Singapore in 2018 and it's amazing how much they keep expanding, understandably so. They are a powerhouse and when your country is just a big island, it's important to keep your status and improve for both the economy and your people. Bet Malaysia regrets kicking them out now. We'd love to expand our territory peacefully through reunification but alas.
@MrAizatazmi
@MrAizatazmi Жыл бұрын
no we are not regretting kicking them out, they are better as an independent nation
@vennsim71
@vennsim71 Жыл бұрын
Yes, we feel darn good being kicked out. We wouldn’t do well at all with them. It’s a blessing totally.
@MrAizatazmi
@MrAizatazmi Жыл бұрын
@@vennsim71 tunku is a visionary and think ahead of it's time
@vennsim71
@vennsim71 Жыл бұрын
@@MrAizatazmi and Malaysia sank like her currency… certainly visionary..
@ayahpinkofficial2769
@ayahpinkofficial2769 Жыл бұрын
No regret.... Singapore is better as a country... Singapore are Malaysia biggest trade partners, biggest investors and An Miltary ally in FPDA pact , so on Malaysia to Singapore...just imagine Singapore is a state in Malaysia...maybe their full potential as a state in Malaysia is just comparable to Malaysia richest state of Selangor...Tunku Doing a good decision..not everything can benefits Us by just merged...
@g5400
@g5400 Жыл бұрын
Always fascinating and informative!
@AllocatorsAsia
@AllocatorsAsia Жыл бұрын
“I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating - and it gets everywhere.” Always found it kind of funny though that the Middle East with all its sand, can’t actually use it for construction because it’s too smooth.
@armandoventura9043
@armandoventura9043 Жыл бұрын
the second great irony of the Middle East
@johnl.7754
@johnl.7754 Жыл бұрын
@@declangallagher1448 except for oil
@titan1070
@titan1070 Жыл бұрын
congrats on 300k subs!
@theknifedude1881
@theknifedude1881 Жыл бұрын
Congratulations on 300K subscribers 🎉🎊! Asianometry is one of the first channels I put on Patreon after watching only one of the videos! Thank you so much for the informative, educational videos.
@Asianometry
@Asianometry Жыл бұрын
Yay! Thank you!
@Blingchachink
@Blingchachink Жыл бұрын
So lucky I found this channel. Good ass videos my Asian brother.
@aerial_camera_video_imaging
@aerial_camera_video_imaging Жыл бұрын
Excellent information, thank you.
@vans2548
@vans2548 Жыл бұрын
These projects are so massive. A sight to behold.
@vennsim71
@vennsim71 Жыл бұрын
Well, Singapore has expanded an island via reclaiming the sea using incinerated garbage. Look up Pulau Semakau. The government certainly came up with tonnes of ideas.
@stickymoney
@stickymoney Жыл бұрын
The photo of the HDB shown at 2:26 is the actual HDB at marine parade neighbourhood, not some random HDB photo. I'm really impressed with the accuracy of your research...
@johnnychang4233
@johnnychang4233 Жыл бұрын
@Asianometry Very interesting and diverse topics. Please do one researching about the implication of mountains and hills destruction ongoing inside PRC 😉
@hueything228
@hueything228 Жыл бұрын
This is fascinating, thank you
@tanjoy0205
@tanjoy0205 Жыл бұрын
Another great Singapore Video !
@dom1310df
@dom1310df Жыл бұрын
In Devon, in southwest England, there is a former landfill site slowly being washed away by the sea because it was literally on the beach. Hopefully modern developments using landfill have a better strategy for combating erosion.
@misterbacon4933
@misterbacon4933 Жыл бұрын
Very interesting and unknown subject!
@shadowj3311
@shadowj3311 Жыл бұрын
Singapore has already find a solution to this problem by using waste Ash and construction waste without have to import from other.Singapore is a small island with zero resources of any kind so the government have to keep finding way to produce resources out of nothing.
@viewer-of-content
@viewer-of-content Жыл бұрын
You Missed the Traditional Wooden beam and boulder method. Timber beams back filled by rough "locking" shaped boulders and topped with clay soil is a traditional sea wall method. I think this earthen damp method has worked up to around 300ft deep or around 100meters. It still runs into the issues of shipment and wood support maitanence, but can use much less enviormentally strained reasources than sand and steel.
@nvelsen1975
@nvelsen1975 Жыл бұрын
Wood that rots, and flood defenses...? Nonsense.
@viewer-of-content
@viewer-of-content Жыл бұрын
@@nvelsen1975 Wood doesn't always rot. Wood fully submerged in saltwater lasts hundreds of years if maintained. Though wood is a common food item for undersea critters in the darkest parts of the oceans, so tracking pests is essential. But the main purpose for the wood is initial framing and not actually permanent support. The reason that I mentioned "locking" shape boulder and clay is that this style of land expansion basically acts as an earthen dam, and has a wider base than top. The main structural component is the boulders, and intentional presure put apon the boulders and general setling of the boulders locks them into plase with mechanical stone joinery. The clay component is to act as waterproofing layers both keping water out from the other side, and to prevent water intrusion into the stack of boulders. Making sure that water is not overly penetrating your bowlder stack is essential for preventing hydraulic separation working against the mechanical stone joinery. The stone filled wood frame is actually how many old dams and piers were built and has lasted thousands of years in some locations.
@viewer-of-content
@viewer-of-content Жыл бұрын
@@nvelsen1975 The oldest wooden building with original timbers is hundreds of years old. Standard reinforced concrete/carbon steel shaters in around 50years. The keys are preventing bugs, rot, and overly drastic moisture changes in the wood. sunken wooden ships and hundreds of years old buildings can be maintained if they keep roughly the same moisture content and avoid dryrot temperature/moisture conditions. sea burial of wood is usually pretty good if deep sea wood worms don't find it. And keeping would out of around 50·f 10·c and 50% moisture content should lessen dryrot issues.
@antonbashkin6706
@antonbashkin6706 Жыл бұрын
You’re making important work and a lot to think about…. Waste could be turned to sand etc… Thank you!
@billhanna2148
@billhanna2148 Жыл бұрын
Thank you 🙏 again for your EXCELLENT work 🙏👏👏👏
@yonglizen
@yonglizen Жыл бұрын
Bless this channel
@nitemar
@nitemar Жыл бұрын
My favorite PowerPoint presentation channel
@paddy696
@paddy696 Жыл бұрын
Few years ago Cambodia said they had exported x Billion tones to S'pore. Yet S'pore said they'd imported x by x by x Billion tones from Cambodia!
@wisewarnanazara317
@wisewarnanazara317 Жыл бұрын
Singapore has been stealing the sand of nearby Indonesian island using vacuum ships, leaving the island with tiny chunk left or dissapear completely. What a shame.
@vennsim71
@vennsim71 Жыл бұрын
Can’t be the case. Must be someone sold, someone bought. Might as well say they can simply go over with huge barges and steal a mountain.
@wisewarnanazara317
@wisewarnanazara317 Жыл бұрын
@@vennsim71 nope. The islands were small. May be islets is the correct terms, no one lives there. They use large ships with sucking pipe to sucked the sand. No, that is against the law. But hey, Singapore has military backers like Britain and US.
@ianc9699
@ianc9699 Жыл бұрын
@@wisewarnanazara317 If Indonesia saw any problem with that, they would do something about it now wouldnt they? Either it never happened or it was of no concern to anybody
@wisewarnanazara317
@wisewarnanazara317 Жыл бұрын
@@ianc9699 We did, By building military / police outpost on the remaining island that has not disaaperar. It did cause a degree of protest among the citizen at that time. It's quite rampart and they did that at the time we face economic and political hardship. I believe they had reduced the stealing sand practice for now. As far as I know, nowadays they mostly buy sands from Myanmar. Our economy, military, and diplomacy has grown quite well in the past two decades. I think Singapore govt start to think that having good relationship with our govt is much better than stealing sand.
@ianc9699
@ianc9699 Жыл бұрын
@@wisewarnanazara317 wow i thought singapore always had good relations with Indonesia since the 90s
@irwainnornossa4605
@irwainnornossa4605 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for using SI units. Finally, we all can understand. If someone develops method for converting desert sand into more coarse types, he'll become very rich. I'd work on it, but I'm too stupid for that.
@Asianometry
@Asianometry Жыл бұрын
"Sports Illustrated" units?
@1pcfred
@1pcfred Жыл бұрын
@@Asianometry bikinis! OK maybe football fields.
@yamikirin
@yamikirin Жыл бұрын
Only thing to add is that SG is looking into using the incinerated trash as reclamed land, see Semakau Landfill where portions of the landfill that are full have been converted into parks / green spaces for settling
@BaronVonQuiply
@BaronVonQuiply Жыл бұрын
I wonder if we can use crushed glass in concrete instead of sand, it'll be rough and angular just like sea sand. It would be a good use for harder-to-recycle colored glass.
@gregvanpaassen
@gregvanpaassen Жыл бұрын
Glass is made from (purified) sand in the first place. Despite the high quality (and cost) of the raw material, most glass ends up crushed and used in asphaltic concrete which is used for the surface of roads. There simply isn't enough glass to make much of a scratch in the problem.
@BaronVonQuiply
@BaronVonQuiply Жыл бұрын
@@gregvanpaassen Thanks for the extra info. I didn't know it was used in asphalt.
@EmilNicolaiePerhinschi
@EmilNicolaiePerhinschi Жыл бұрын
lots of glass is recycled, crushed and melted again: it is easier to melt recycled glass than make new glass
@pppp3997
@pppp3997 Жыл бұрын
Too expensive. Their competitoris literally dirt-cheap .
@user0K
@user0K Жыл бұрын
glass is recycled by making sand and glass again
@mrnarason
@mrnarason Жыл бұрын
I was just watching a Lee Kuan yew interview from Harvard and he was saying that he basically got scammed for buying a lot of glass making machinery but Singapore had no sand so he had to sell it 😂
@William-Morey-Baker
@William-Morey-Baker Жыл бұрын
thats not much of a scam... seems more like a bad business plan
@JoeOvercoat
@JoeOvercoat Жыл бұрын
“scammed” = “I was a lousy businessman”
@vennsim71
@vennsim71 Жыл бұрын
But he’s pretty astute with his business vision and acumen. That why Singapore is what it is today.
@rexanguis214
@rexanguis214 Жыл бұрын
Love your work…..wish you had talked more about sand itself and a bit more context
@linkan4738
@linkan4738 Жыл бұрын
Great job.👏👏👏
@hedebyhedge6337
@hedebyhedge6337 Жыл бұрын
Great video. Surprised you didn't mention sand in the context of silicon wafers, since you're KZfaq's expert there
@amosbatto3051
@amosbatto3051 Жыл бұрын
Quartz is used to make silicon wafers, so they have to get it from different places than the sand used in construction.
@frankchan4272
@frankchan4272 Жыл бұрын
I didn’t know that you lived in Foster City in San Francisco Bay Area. Many areas in SF Bay are built up with sand, rocks or garbage. Bay Farm Island is built up from garbage as that used to the dump for Oakland & Alameda as I was child growing up in that area seeing that area being built.
@OZtwo
@OZtwo Жыл бұрын
Thanks for this video
@mosesracal6758
@mosesracal6758 20 күн бұрын
I remember sand dredging being a problem in my home country as well. It was so bad that the environmental minister had to keep flying in Army choppers to document it all - fortunately she was part of the family that owned the largest TV media company at that time so she was always in the headlines and so succeeded in her advocacy.
@canalsentir
@canalsentir Жыл бұрын
hi from Mexico. Interesting video. thank you.🙂
@jmartinez2131
@jmartinez2131 Жыл бұрын
Awesome video.
@donaldpetersen2382
@donaldpetersen2382 Жыл бұрын
The sand must flow
@AverytheCubanAmerican
@AverytheCubanAmerican Жыл бұрын
Anakin: I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Asianometry: People use sand for a variety of purposes Anakin: LIKE HATING IT Singapore: It's over Anakin, I have the high ground! Anakin: You underestimate my power- Singapore, wielding the power of sand: *No u*
@kwatai9298
@kwatai9298 Жыл бұрын
fantastic data
@Ownermode
@Ownermode Жыл бұрын
This was way more intrestring then I tought.
@christopheb9221
@christopheb9221 Жыл бұрын
I wonder if they build the land high enough with sea level rise in mind, I know they do with sinking but seems like it could be unusable in not to distant future without tearing down everything and adding more. Im surprised that sand is the preferred material for reclamation. Also wonder why they build land rather than structures into the sea floor or floating?
@kazedcat
@kazedcat Жыл бұрын
Even if all ice on earth melted sea level will not rise more than 2 meters. Floating structure does not work for heavy industry nor high density residential. Singapore just don't have enough space for a sprawling floating city. For now importing sand is cheaper if that become a problem then the next less expensive solution is to put their industry underground.
@tanjoy0205
@tanjoy0205 Жыл бұрын
Sea Walls ,Walls my dude .
@volkhen0
@volkhen0 Жыл бұрын
@@kazedcat if all ice melted sea level would rise 70 meters. Since 1990 sea level rose 10cm. If your claim was true 5% off all land ice on Earth should melt since 1990. Which is completely not true.
@kazedcat
@kazedcat Жыл бұрын
@@volkhen0 There is not enough ice to cover the entire earth with additional water 70 meters high. Ice is less dense than water so if your projection is true then the equator should be covered right now with more than 70meters of ice. Just look at the surface area of the earth covered in ice that is a tiny fraction compared to the entire surface of the earth. Also yes a significant portion of the polar ice cap has melted already. And don't expect the sea level to continue its rise indefinitely the volume of ice on earth is not infinite.
@volkhen0
@volkhen0 Жыл бұрын
@@kazedcat ice in Greenland and Antarctica is kilometers thick (2160m on average) 70m is 3.2% of that average thickness (70/2160=0.032). Total Earth surface are 510 million sq km. Greenland + Antarctica = 16.5 million sq km. If you do math then you will see that both ice land masses make 3.2% of land area (16.5/510=0.032). Coincidence? No. Checkmate, mate.
@Jila_Tana
@Jila_Tana Жыл бұрын
As you say it is reason for criticism, I have never heard any critics about my country constructing the 'Maasvlakte' at Rotterdam to increase the harbor area. This is not a polder area.
@harshivpatel6238
@harshivpatel6238 Жыл бұрын
11:43 this has lead to some sinking issues, but the idea still stands... lol
@Kamil_O
@Kamil_O Жыл бұрын
I love this sand facts channel. I wonder when sand will become so expensive that it will be just cheaper to build city-space-station
@MechanicalFrog
@MechanicalFrog Жыл бұрын
Fascinating.
@ChadWilson
@ChadWilson Жыл бұрын
Could desert sand be used to replace the river sand that has been mined? Kind of like replanting tress after you harvest the old?
@sbaumgartner9848
@sbaumgartner9848 Жыл бұрын
I'm not a sand expert, but I know that desert sand (e.g. UAE, Saudi, etc.) isn't good for much. Not building and not for their expanding their land.
@ChadWilson
@ChadWilson Жыл бұрын
@@sbaumgartner9848, that is why I am curious. Desert sand has been wind blown and polished to within an inch of its life, so maybe it is too smooth and round. I wonder if any experiments have been done to see how poorly or well it might act as a replacement.
@forzer456
@forzer456 Жыл бұрын
Maybe they can ask Anakin where his sand is from? I heard its coarse and rough and gets everywhere. Some good properties to look at.
@Taygetea
@Taygetea Жыл бұрын
"isn't it like penguins needing to import sand?" well... yes.
@andersjjensen
@andersjjensen Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I laughed at the slip-up too :P
@robwillock3
@robwillock3 Жыл бұрын
On the Marina Parade reclamation…There are no HDB apartments in Singapore that sell for millions of Singapore dollars.
@stnank
@stnank Жыл бұрын
This is like the opposite of clickbait. A video with a seemingly mundane title that inspires genuine curiosity. "Why do they need sand? And where will they get it?? I must know."
@hewhohasnoidentity4377
@hewhohasnoidentity4377 Жыл бұрын
First time I hauled sand from Houston to Wyoming I was very confused.
@bursegsardaukar
@bursegsardaukar Жыл бұрын
2:33 The power of sand compels you! *Throws sand at Darth Vader*
@mango-strawberry
@mango-strawberry Жыл бұрын
Rock solid video brother. Please make a video on India too.
@chengmunwai
@chengmunwai Жыл бұрын
"Sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating" - Love the opening quote from Star Wars !
@etegration
@etegration Жыл бұрын
Only in July 2022 was there a first HDB flat sold for over 1 million SGD in Marine Parade. there has never been one sold over a million before this. so the "Marine Parade HDB apartments now regularly sell for millions" is absoutely false. we dont have that many millionaires lah hahaha
@robwillock3
@robwillock3 Жыл бұрын
I noticed that, good video overall but that’s a completely false statement.
@vipondiu
@vipondiu Жыл бұрын
Now I want to see a movie about gang wars between Sand-trafficking mafias in Indonesia 8:23
@heyidkrn6251
@heyidkrn6251 Жыл бұрын
Love the Star Wars references
@DeathToMockingBirds
@DeathToMockingBirds Жыл бұрын
I recommend the book "The World in a grain", if you want details on how critical sand is for our economy, along with its impact,
@CompleteAnimation
@CompleteAnimation Жыл бұрын
This video gave me semantic satiation over the word 'sand'
@Mikasks
@Mikasks Жыл бұрын
Why do I feel like as if this is a really well researched class presentation on a very interesting subject?
@madebi85
@madebi85 Жыл бұрын
Surely desert sand would be suitable for land reclamation? Unlike cement which requires sand from rivers or the sea
@jimster1111
@jimster1111 Жыл бұрын
As someone that lives in the american southwest id much rather my government sell off our near unlimited supply of sand instead of our very limited supply of water
@catchnkill
@catchnkill Жыл бұрын
It is not any sand. They need very specific type of sand. Usually it comes from river sand. Desert sand is not usable for construction. There is a quite limited supply.
@thursoberwick1948
@thursoberwick1948 Жыл бұрын
@@catchnkill Surely the answer would be to buy sand from river dredging elsewhere.
@fusion9619
@fusion9619 Жыл бұрын
Are we exporting water? I haven't heard of that.
@jimster1111
@jimster1111 Жыл бұрын
@@fusion9619 not exportation per se but giving near unlimited water rights to large corporations as incentivization for them to build industries that rely heavily on it. data centers, chip fabs, water bottling plants etc. that take millions of gallons a day from our very limited and very slowly replenishing underground aquifers or above ground reservoirs imo i think these places should be forced to pay tax for a pipeline that supplies desalinated sea water instead.
@fusion9619
@fusion9619 Жыл бұрын
@@jimster1111 yeah, big problem. Unfortunately I think we have to just let a disaster strike. I can't support forcing anyone to do/pay anything, and I don't think the democratic process can handle this problem. Or tbh, any problem. Giving rights and subsidies is the same as taxing everyone else. It's also illegal by WTO rules that we ratified, but no one makes a peep when the US breaks international law.
@pat8988
@pat8988 Жыл бұрын
With the number of rivers drying up this summer, sand mining can be done with a bulldozer instead of a dredge.
@SaintFluffySnow
@SaintFluffySnow Жыл бұрын
Does China PRC's Taiwan Island Province have a sand-needy problem? As recently, in early August 2022, over a week ago, the mainland China PRC has recently halted "sand exports" to Taiwan (or halted all sand imports into Taiwan) China didn't specify what kind of sand: whether dredged waterworn sand, or mined high purity quartzite into sand (for polysilicon mfr) nor mentioned specifically from where the sand source came from
@thursoberwick1948
@thursoberwick1948 Жыл бұрын
Taiwan has a lot more land area than Singapore, so it is a lesser problem.
@tzyijiang9884
@tzyijiang9884 Жыл бұрын
Perhaps Singapore can learn from Venice. Also, how about use desert sand and sea sand to make glass, and use crushed glass to make sand?
@sbaumgartner9848
@sbaumgartner9848 Жыл бұрын
This is a huge and concerning topic. I learned about it a few years ago. It's too bad not enough people know about the situation. When I've mentioned it to other people or watch other videos there's always this hype about new technologies to replace sand. Sure, sure, but how many decades before it actually becomes a reality?
@mattheweburns
@mattheweburns Жыл бұрын
I thought that sand itself was a terrible foundation material, yes it might be for temporary walkways and roads but as far as the buildings maybe you were talking about the concrete piers it takes to drive into the bedrock to make a solid building? Others in barrier Islands Candy Magic biscuit ever have any sort of longevity
@PlanetFrosty
@PlanetFrosty Жыл бұрын
The Taiwanese Deer you use as your aviator is charming. You topic is timely and certainly it’s needed to be discussed in detail. Sand use needs to be evaluated. In an oil drill site off California concrete tetrapods were created with aggregate and sand on top. The tetrapods also created habitat and it’s still in use today built in the 1960s
@liberteidentitemodernite
@liberteidentitemodernite 10 ай бұрын
I'm probably missing something, but isn't it possible to just use regular "dirt" or soil? Like dig a hole in the Cambodian forest with minimal environmental impact and export that clay (like a quarry)?
@StephenGillie
@StephenGillie Жыл бұрын
WA State has 12 million cubic feet of sand, piled 230 feet high, at the headquarters of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, created by excavating for Grand Coulee Dam. It's almost like a strategic reserve.
@mabamabam
@mabamabam Жыл бұрын
12,000,000 cubic feet really isnt much. 200m x200m x10m deep
@JoeOvercoat
@JoeOvercoat Жыл бұрын
12:45 that Arabian sand is so fine that it gets into everything, right down to gearboxes.
@Alex.The.Lionnnnn
@Alex.The.Lionnnnn Жыл бұрын
Love it. "I can't do a video that isn't connected to chip manufacture!!"....."Waaaait a minute!!"
@JoshChristiane
@JoshChristiane Жыл бұрын
I love how unbiased you were on this complex and political subject.
@neilh990
@neilh990 Жыл бұрын
Please put legends on charts
@frants48
@frants48 Жыл бұрын
How about using limestone mountains for reclamation projects? Supply is unlimited & environmental concerns are minimal. Sand should be used only for concreting?
@solgrex4391
@solgrex4391 Жыл бұрын
All hail YT algorithm!! I learn something new today...
@TamagoHead
@TamagoHead Жыл бұрын
It’s currently cheaper to steal that look into long term changes. The Gobi & Sahara seem to be good candidates for improving desert sand to sea sand for new construction. Kind of a dead end in terms of findings.
@WhatWillYouFind
@WhatWillYouFind Жыл бұрын
Desert sands from specific regions are not suitable for building materials. Too fine or Too course. If only this wasnt the case, we could just mine out the deserts. XD
@agxryt
@agxryt 6 ай бұрын
"isn't it like penguins needing to import sand?" Did he mean snow? Really flubbed that analogy lol
@markissboi3583
@markissboi3583 Жыл бұрын
There's Sand and there is Sand gotcha!
@TheShorterboy
@TheShorterboy Жыл бұрын
You should cover Singapore as an IQ Shredder
@user-we8nn3vp5d
@user-we8nn3vp5d Жыл бұрын
Is the problem with “leaching” or “leaking”?
@1pcfred
@1pcfred Жыл бұрын
Leaching is leaking. Just a specific form of leaking.
@brokeunistudent2474
@brokeunistudent2474 Жыл бұрын
"penguins having to import sand" but the subtitles showing "ice"
@kyleslater5245
@kyleslater5245 Жыл бұрын
Can they not use slightly larger rock for this?
@somewhere6
@somewhere6 Жыл бұрын
I don't really see a "problem". It's a technical and economic consideration. At the supplier end, there can be abuse in illegal taking of sand that destroys some beaches and other scenery (I've seen this in India) but this can be prevented by local enforcement if they really want to. I don't see why Singapore should stop its projects if they economically are working.
@XalphYT
@XalphYT Жыл бұрын
8:14 Sand Piracy - What an unexpected turn of phrase.
@samsawesomeminecraft
@samsawesomeminecraft Жыл бұрын
can tunneling be a source of sand? I imagine digging around deep under the sea or under the city can create plenty of industrial work space (caverns are great for controlling air pollution and heat), aid in transportation, and provide shelter without disrupting the surface.
@malnutritionboy
@malnutritionboy Жыл бұрын
expensive
@nkristianschmidt
@nkristianschmidt Жыл бұрын
Land is cheap in small countries where nothing of value is taking place. Land is expensive in Vancouver, though Canada is big. Land is only valuable, if there is something of value going on right where the land is; so country size matters not.
@ronaldhee6608
@ronaldhee6608 Жыл бұрын
Lovely! Like some countries have an strategic oil reserve, Singapore has a strategic land reserve. There's a sand dune near the airport. And it's under guard ...
Going Nuclear to Desalinate Seawater
14:57
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 556 М.
How Tiny Singapore Became a Petro-Giant
14:35
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 177 М.
1❤️#thankyou #shorts
00:21
あみか部
Рет қаралды 88 МЛН
Why You Should Always Help Others ❤️
00:40
Alan Chikin Chow
Рет қаралды 116 МЛН
We’re Running Out of Sand (and It’s a Huge Problem)
13:08
PBS Terra
Рет қаралды 186 М.
The Eternal Landlords of the Philippines
17:16
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 206 М.
The Most Confusing Part of the Power Grid
22:07
Practical Engineering
Рет қаралды 1 МЛН
Why Singapore's Sand Addiction is Problematic
12:23
Faultline
Рет қаралды 34 М.
Australia's Natural Gas Dilemma
16:30
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 338 М.
TSMC's Renegade Genius
24:47
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 331 М.
Inside Singapore’s deadly war on drugs | 101 East Documentary
25:01
Al Jazeera English
Рет қаралды 1,6 МЛН
Why China Can't Keep The Lights On
14:26
Asianometry
Рет қаралды 164 М.