Maybe I’ve had my head in the sand for a while (forgive the pun right out of the gate), but I've recently found out that the world is suffering from a shortage of sand.  The New York Times reports that the increasing demand of sand from manufacturing and construction in combination with rising sea levels and human development of shores is reaching crisis levels.  Sand is used in plenty of construction activities, from mortar to concrete to brick and asphalt.  We use a LOT of it.  In fact, concrete production takes a whopping 80 percent of all the sand that is mined. So what can we do?  One company says the answer is to drink more beer.