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"The Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil." - Sheikh Zaki Yamani
by jeromeflipo 11y ago
"The Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil." - Sheikh Zaki Yamani
- mikeash 11y agoThat's such a bad comparison. Stone is way more common and was being used by far fewer people. I sincerely hope it's true, but it's one of those snide comments that attempts to make legitimate concerns look stupid.
- dragontamer 11y ago> Stone is way more common Stone is literally more expensive than oil. Note that at $2.00 / gallon, gasoline (refined oil) is twice as cheap as bottled water. At $35 / barrel (ie: $35 per 55-gallon drum), crude oil is literally cheaper than a huge number of commodities. Crude Oil is roughly $0.65 per gallon. Definitely cheaper than stone by every measurement.
- narrowrail 11y agoNot to step on the general point you are making, but a barrel of oil is 42 gallons[0], so $0.83/gal. Also, I get spring water from a ~local spring for $0.85/gal. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_%28unit%29#Oil_barrel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_%28unit%29#Oil_barrel
- lorenzhs 11y agoThe barrel is not included in the price, though, whereas it's included in the price of bottled water. The better comparison is tap water, which I get for $0.0089/gal.
- mikeash 11y agoStones can be found just lying around on the ground all over the world. I don't care how cheap oil is, it's not cheaper than "you can bend down and pick some up." Cheaper than bottled water? No it's not. You can find some bottled water that's more expensive, sure, but you can find bottled water that's cheaper too. I'm sure you can find some oil somewhere that's more expensive than good champagne, too. Bottled water is a terrible comparison anyway, because most of what you're paying for is the "bottled." Oil is not cheaper than water in most places. Can you imagine paying 65 cents/gallon for your shower?
- dingaling 11y agoThe stones you can pick-up from the ground aren't much use in construction other than for rubble-fill, which requires quantities vastly greater than available in free [position] material. To gather them in kilotonnes you'll need to remove and sift the regolith layer. A lot more expensive than 'pick some up'.
- mikeash 11y agoI don't believe the Stone Age was primarily about stone construction.
- DanBC 11y ago> Cheaper than bottled water? No it's not. http://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-costs-2000x-more-than-tap-2013-7?IR=T http://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-costs-2000x-mor... > > "The [bottled water] industry grossed a total of $11.8 billion on those 9.7 billion gallons in 2012, making bottled water about $1.22/gallon nationwide Parent post says > > > Crude Oil is roughly $0.65 per gallon.
- mikeash 11y agoMy point is that bottled water prices vary enormously, because it's pretty much a pure convenience and branding product. Looking at the average is meaningless, and comparing it with oil is silly. Look at the price of the underlying commodity (water) and see what that costs.