Severe coastal erosion, Ocean Beach at Sloat, San Francisco, California. Photo source: ©© Shields
Excerpts;
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) held a hearing Thursday and unanimously approved a 10-year mining permit for sand removal from San Francisco Bay, and from two other areas near Suisun, said Brenda Goeden of BCDC. Pacifica city staff strongly objected to the permit application, concluding the sand removal from San Francisco Bay would result in less sand on Pacifica beaches and contribute to greater cliff erosion…
The amount of sand the permit requests is 15 times greater than the annual amount of sand that comes into the bay from the delta and thus will negatively impact sand transport out of the bay. It will also create more than 10 years of bay floor disequilibrium and will negatively affect outer coastal beach nourishment…
Read Full Article, Mercury News
San Francisco Bay Sand Mining Alarms Conservationists, San Francisco Gate (12-16-2012)
Dredge mining of shoals near Angel and Alcatraz islands and throughout Suisun Bay is robbing the bay of sand that keeps San Francisco’s Ocean Beach from eroding, according to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey…
San Francisco Bay Sand Mining Raises Question About Beach Erosion, SF Examiner (11-15-2012)
The sediment in San Francisco Bay, once thought of as a renewable resource, is eroding and being removed much more quickly than nature replenishes it…
Why S.F. is Moving 42,000 Tons of Sand Down Ocean Beach, San Francisco Gate (12-06-2014)
Beach Sand Mining in Monterey Bay Causes a Dustup, WSJ (04-08-2014)
Monterey Bay, California: Beach Sand Mining from a National Marine Sanctuary; By Gary Griggs
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report
Let’s Talk About Sand: Denis Delestrac At TEDxBarcelona
Denis Delestrac latest feature documentary, “Sand Wars” is an epic eco-thriller that takes the audience around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: we are running out of sand! In this TEDxBarcelona talk, he explains us where sand comes from and where it ends up…
The Deadly Global War for Sand, WIRED (03-26-2015)
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Denis Delestrac
Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations…? This investigation takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “Sand Wars” have begun…
