[Kosh]

I've been hearing things about certain metals (namely platinum, silver, copper, zinc, and a few other exotic metals) entering "permanent scarcity". I heard somewhere that copper will run out by 2014 and zinc by the 2030's. Is there any truth to this and if so, what to do (as a people)?

[jdjtcagle]

Electronic money...

[Jeff Vader]

I've been hearing things about certain metals (namely platinum, silver, copper, zinc, and a few other exotic metals) entering "permanent scarcity". I heard somewhere that copper will run out by 2014 and zinc by the 2030's. Is there any truth to this and if so, what to do (as a people)?

Yeah, I've heard the same. Certain metals are running out and they say it sucks. What can we do as a group of people? Idk. What to do as an individual? Start buying as much metal (namely platinum) as your financial status allows, and become rich within a few decades when the price jumps through the roof.

[Snail]

Electronic money...

Agreed, unless you're being sarcastic.

[BloodEagle]

Start collecting pennies.

[Goober5000]

Start mining asteroids.

[Mars]

Start using PVC

[achtung]

Start mining asteroids.

You beat me to it.

[Goober5000]

You beat me to it.

I'll sell you an acre of mining rights on Ceres for $1000.  Get your share now; they'll be snapped up very quickly.

[Nuke]

isnt the earth a big metal ball with of rocks stuck to it?

[Flipside]

Like Oil, there'll be plenty left by those dates, but the cost of getting to them using current techniques would be more expensive than the value of the material.

[Fineus]

Jesus people. Mass fabs. Lots and lots of Mass fabs.

[S-99]

Metal depletion makes me wonder about certain stuff. You know like all the hulks of past blown up military vehicles sitting there in the horizon and decomissioned war ships that just get sunk these days. That's like a lot of wasted metal. Would scrap metal dump people want to take this stuff, or recycling people want to take this stuff?

[Mars]

They remove all the wiring, plumbing and reactor systems from the ships before they sink them. And most warships are scrapped anyway.

[S-99]

I'm not talking about polluting the environment with these decomissioned war machines. I'm talking about whether it'd be a good idea or not to recycle all that metal in the name of a metal shortage. Who cares how they get sunk, that's one big hulk of metal still.

[Mefustae]

Jesus people. Mass fabs. Lots and lots of Mass fabs.

But we'd need lots of T3 Power plants for that, we just don't have the economy!

[Flipside]

The higher we climb in the research tree, the more we use the branches for nothing more than hitting those underneath us....

[Kosh]

Start mining asteroids.

I was thinking something along those lines, but its hard to do that for two reasons:

1.) we have a stagnant space program that has done nothing to try to make something like asteroid mining even a remote possibility. We have been stuck in low earth orbit for too long. I guess because its just more convenient.

2.) we can't even get people to mars, partly because of the above mentioned reason.

T3 Power plants

What are those?

[Mefustae]

T3 Power plants

What are those?

Happen to hear a whooshing sound just now? Yeah, that was the reference flying right over your head.

[Goober5000]

He admitted as such.  Now do him the courtesy of explaining what a T3 power plant is.