Tell me more ×
Skeptics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientific skepticism. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

I've recently seen the movie Collapse. They make many claims about oil and an hypothetical global collapse when it runs low.

In this movie, Michael Ruppert says that a simple car tire needs 7 US gallons (~ 26 liters) of oil. He then quickly concludes that the electrical car is joke, because it needs too much oil in order to be built.

Is there any fact or study about this matter? Do we know how much oil is needed for building a tire and a car?

share|improve this question
Well, the rubber manufacturers association states "Approximately seven gallons" (combined between product / energy). So the claim doesn't seem unwarranted. Not sure that is robust enough for an answer, though. And certainly doesn't give an answer for the entire car. – Marc Gravell♦ Mar 19 '12 at 8:23
2  
@Marc, it gets more complex when you read that (a) 2 of those gallons are to power the process (and hence are subject to replacement by other power sources) and (b) 70% of rubber is natural (Is it suitable for tyres? Can natural production be increased in an ecologically friendly way?) Also, an electric car, per se, doesn't reduce fossil fuel use unless the local electrical power supplies are changed from fossil fuel to other sources. – Oddthinking♦ Mar 19 '12 at 9:17
The second part of the question is probably addressed by the graph in t Borror0's answer here: skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/351/… – Oddthinking♦ Mar 19 '12 at 9:31
2  
@Oddthinking yes, fully understood. I did say it wasn't complete enough! Re "reduce", you'd also need to consider the energy efficiency values of the engine+petrol+distribution vs power-station+cables+power-cells+motor, plus have details of fabrication overheads. Reminds me of a similar discussion (re "green" power) at college, which ended abruptly when someone (an arts/language student) stated with a straight face that power stations "catch lightning" - it was hard to continue the discussion due to the laughter. – Marc Gravell♦ Mar 19 '12 at 9:33
1  
@Coren, yes. The key paper he cites covers production, though. – Oddthinking♦ Mar 19 '12 at 10:58
show 5 more comments

Know someone who can answer? Share a link to this question via email, Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.