The overuse of sand is 'one of the major sustainability challenges of the 21st-century.'

- United Nations Environment Program, 2019

Sand is the hidden foundation of our society. In Sand Stories, Kiran Pereira maps out the big picture of why it is the most consumed commodity on the planet after water. The book also examines the impacts of our seemingly insatiable demand for sand on our global Sustainable Development Goals.

The concern is that sand is a non-renewable resource and not every kind of sand is useful. While the number of sand's uses beyond glass and concrete is growing, its sources are not. The good news is that there are solutions to this alarming global problem, including those that foster a circular economy. We now need the political will to enact them.