I remember when they were figuring that out. A LOT of sand went into that. I used to sell sand, bringing it from the midwest to the west, by the railcar. I was always amazed at the amount of sand that was shipped there–for fracking, for filtration, for glass, for aggregates (concrete, cements, etc). I always thought where could all this sand come from that they don’t just run out?
That’s my small personal finite world trying to understand something of far greater scale than I. I think that’s a major trip up with most humans, we try to comprehend something relative to our small scale.
Physics doc once told me, “man has always been limited by his means to measure”. That is so true. Wise man. Cranky tho
Yes, I forgot that nuance. It’s interesting how even when a country sheds the yoke of socialism because the government drained the economy and the spirit of that culture, the scabs move back in to exploit the resources they could take with them on the first go around.
I worked for a German photographer with the Public Affairs Office in the US military command, Bremerhaven. I watched him sending “care packages” to his relatives in the East. I though about him when the wall came down. Notice the direction humanity flowed.
I do miss seeing the east german women’s olympians…
I knew a german who would come here to maintain their machines a few times a year. He said his neighbors didn’t understand why he did that, he was stupid as he worked so hard instead of just staying home and being on the dole. He said he wanted to buy a house, cars, good things in life.
I agreed.
Then he complained that his boss, the owner, was making too much money and he has all these great things.
Then he said govt should tax him more because of it.
He never made the connection between his neighbors, him working hard to get more things, and his boss, also working hard to get more things.
Too many people get mad when others have more goodies than they do.