Why would you need angular sand for electronics?
Time is running out for sand
41–46 of 46 posts
Re: Time is running out for sand
#42As with every resource-depletion issue like this, the obvious answer is to reduce the number of humans. Consider never reproducing instead of trying to think of some clever technological solution.
I wonder if the people who make this sort of comment have seriously considered their own options for reducing the human population by one.
Yes, clearly suggesting limiting reproduction is equivalent to suggesting a person should kill themselves /sarcasm.
Many of the world's problems are a result of overpopulation. It is not an unreasonable point to make that individuals reducing reproduction world wide could help.
P.s. no need to now reply to me explaining how impossible / impractical / unfair / unimplementable such a suggestion might be.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#43Oh no. Nextera Energy, according to [1] is "... one of the largest wind and solar energy developers in North America". According to the article, 800 metric tons of concrete go into building a wind turbine. Replacing all of the fossil fuel based power generation in the USA could require one million wind turbines according to some sources! My own back of the envelope calculations indicate that we would need close to 50…
I wish we devised a way to make turbines out of fossil fuel. One word: plastics.
I hope that something comparable to concrete can be made out of polymers, glass / ceramics, and steel at a lower CO2 cost.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#44As with every resource-depletion issue like this, the obvious answer is to reduce the number of humans. Consider never reproducing instead of trying to think of some clever technological solution.
I wonder if the people who make this sort of comment have seriously considered their own options for reducing the human population by one.
Please don't post flamebait to HN.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#45So, industry needs angular sand, and that’s mostly found on rivers. The difference matters for concrete and such, but I wonder whether rivers are so fussy about the type of sand in them. What would happen if you took the desert sand and used it to replace the river sand? Because you’re now mining and transporting twice, you’ll definitely have higher costs.
Sand type definitely matters for water body ability to hold water. I have read articles where Indian ponds/lakes(used in older India for conserving water) were completely destroyed by Britisher's in attempt to clean them. They disturbed the existing floor composition leading to higher water percolation which dried the lake quickly.
I doubt the ponds had sand, though. The size of sand particles is due to recent erosion and will continue to erode down to clay. Ponds and lakes are not capable of the level of erosion to create sand. Besides, sand is pretty poor at holding water. Remove the silt at the bottom of a lake clogging it up, and it'll percolate through much faster.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#46Oh no. Nextera Energy, according to [1] is "... one of the largest wind and solar energy developers in North America". According to the article, 800 metric tons of concrete go into building a wind turbine. Replacing all of the fossil fuel based power generation in the USA could require one million wind turbines according to some sources! My own back of the envelope calculations indicate that we would need close to 50…
I wish we devised a way to make turbines out of fossil fuel. One word: plastics. I hope that something comparable to concrete can be made out of polymers, glass / ceramics, and steel at a lower CO2 cost.
That's completely impractical. I am not a structural engineer, but I know enough about it to know that plastic is certainly NOT the solution.