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| Yes | 73% | 121 votes | Total: 166 votes | |
| No | 27% | 45 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesWater is more valuable than oil right now. A 250 mL bottle of water at the store costs around 1 dollar. A litre of oil costs around 1 dollar. Do the math.
Of course, it is a little difficult to argue that water is cheaper than oil, but the above example proves the point: People believe oil is more valuable than it actually is.
Although oil is getting more and more scarce and its price rises, it will eventually lose its value. New products are being developed every day that are trying to eliminate the use of oil in things such as cars and home electricity. The environmental problems of oil will eventually render it useless. The new products will be implemented and people will soon be complaining about the price of hydrogen fuel for their flying cars.
Can the same be said for water? No one is developing a new product to replace the fundamental need of water for the human body. People will not be drinking some liquid that has been created to be better than water. It will never happen. People need water to survive, plain and simple. For this water is the most valuable product in the world.
There really is no argument that oil is more valuable than water. Water is the most important thing on Earth. The millions of people who are dying due to insufficient drinking supplies prove its value. No one is dying for lack of oil.
Learn more about this author, David Boughton.
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No
This one comes down to simple economics. How much water is there in the world? Well, the oceans cover about 2/3 the planet, and then there's all the freshwater flowing across the continents, the ice caps, and the underground supplies in aquifers. How easy is it to get water, and then make it drinkable? Pretty easy. As just mentioned, it's everywhere. And modern purification techniques are relatively cheap.
How much oil is there in the world? Not all the much. How easy is it to get oil, and then make it drinkable? Fairly difficult. It's hidden away deep underground where it costs millions and millions of dollars to get to, often in climates that no one wants to go to. Then, the crude oil has to be extensively refined to even be usable.
The supply of water far outstrips the supply of oil. While the demand for water is, certainly, universal and greater than the demand for oil, the shear volume of water available is easily able to meet the needs of the populace. Also, the water supply can't exactly run out: it's locked in a self-perpetuating cycle. However, the oil supply is limited. It takes millions and millions of years for organic matter to turn into oil. We don't have that kind of time, so the oil supply is shrinking rapidly. As this supply dwindles and demand stays steady (or increases), the cost will go up even more. Further, a simple filter that costs $3 to make can make clean water for a person for two years, while the cost of first getting the crude oil then refining it far outstrips even the most expensive way of filtering water. This cost is then passed on to the consumer.
The simple laws of economics prevent oil from ever becoming cheaper than water unless the demand for oil suddenly disappears. I don't see this happening anytime soon.
Learn more about this author, Azuaron.
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