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Yup China is going to auger. Seems strange that Saudi Arabia will, but with peak oil changing and all...

One of the factors is that the technology has to be invented, in order to go beyond the state of the art.

indigenous says

Yup China is going to auger. Seems strange that Saudi Arabia will, but with peak oil changing and all...

One of the factors is that the technology has to be invented, in order to go beyond the state of the art.

Guess where that technology will come from.
Saudi Arabia and many other countries in the region know everything about their religion, and nothing about anything else. Building these tallest skyscrapers is just a feel good ego booster for people who still live in the 10th century.

They build the tallest buildings to overcompensate for smallness elsewhere.
The same reason some men drive big trucks.

waiting_for_the_fall says

They build the tallest buildings to overcompensate for smallness elsewhere.

The same reason some men drive big trucks.

Or because they can. Men being men, having fun and playing with toys is not frowned upon in some countries. Here men are just glorified ATMs.

I highly doubt there are sufficient tenants to occupy such a building in Saudi Arabia, the building of skyscrapers in cities like New York was a necessity due to space limitations, not because they look pretty. In Dubai, office building’s occupancy rates are less than 50%. There’s no good economic reason to be building more buildings in Dubai, and I’m sure the same holds true in Saudi Arabia. New York in contrast, office space occupancy rates are at least 90%, and residential apartments are even higher, at 99%. Sure they can build it, but I believe it’s economically irresponsible to do so. Building an excess of office space isn’t going to solve Saudi Arabia’s future economic stability when there oil runs out.

It's about as useful as building a pyramid.

We could use our own natural gas and stop buying oil from Saudis.

This is what our national policy should be, not windmill schemes and Solyndra scams.

clambo says

It's about as useful as building a pyramid.

I wonder if it will experience the same fate as the unfinished pyramid. Probably not...as long as we pay $4 for gasoline...

Natural gas is $2/gallon, Honda Civic natural gas model, awesome.

As soon as my Toyota dies I'll get a CNG car. The problem is my Toyota will probably outlive me.

clambo says

Natural gas is $2/gallon, Honda Civic natural gas model, awesome.

As soon as my Toyota dies I'll get a CNG car. The problem is my Toyota will probably outlive me.

Park it in the worst nearby neighborhood with the doors unlocked and the keys in the insurance. Leave an extra can of gas in the back seat with a lighter and a few rags.

Just make sure you are paid up on your insurance beforehand.

clambo says

Natural gas is $2/gallon, Honda Civic natural gas model, awesome.

As soon as my Toyota dies I'll get a CNG car. The problem is my Toyota will probably outlive me.

Do you see many stations around? I have one a few blocks away, and indeed it is $2...but I don't recall seeing others.

JH says

clambo says

It's about as useful as building a pyramid.

I wonder if it will experience the same fate as the unfinished pyramid. Probably not...as long as we pay $4 for gasoline...

Don't blame me, I drive a Prius.

New Renter says

clambo says

Natural gas is $2/gallon, Honda Civic natural gas model, awesome.

As soon as my Toyota dies I'll get a CNG car. The problem is my Toyota will probably outlive me.

Park it in the worst nearby neighborhood with the doors unlocked and the keys in the insurance. Leave an extra can of gas in the back seat with a lighter and a few rags.

Just make sure you are paid up on your insurance beforehand.

ha ha ha.
If he's unlucky they'll just steal the gas.

You pay as much as a $10k premium for a natural gas car or truck variant. And the tanks aren't inexpensive when they expire.
Don't blame me, I run on biodiesel.

I'm not sure how we got on the subject of cars from office space, but what the hey. $10,000 is a heck of a lot of gas. The average American drives 10,000 miles a year, at 35 mpg, that's 285 gallons of fuel a year. at $4 a gallon, that's around $1,100 a year. So your talking 9 years to pay for that premium in price of your natural gas car, and that's not even including the cost of Natural gas, at $2 a "gallon" of Natural gas, your car is going to have to last you 18 years, just to break even.

It's a nice dream cheaper fuel, but it doesn't add up in the end. Of course if gasoline prices spike to $10 a gallon in the future and Natural gas prices hold steady, it might make economic sense, but with all the new oil wells in the United States producing oil, I don't see prices spiking anytime in the next 5 years.

EBGuy says

You pay as much as a $10k premium for a natural gas car or truck variant. And the tanks aren't inexpensive when they expire.

Don't blame me, I run on biodiesel.

That $10k premium is for the original owner. Buy a used vehicle from a utility company and you'll do OK.

CNG tank lifetime can be up to 20 years:

http://www.greenfleetmagazine.com/article/51938/the-useful-life-of-a-cng-cylinder

Replacement is an expensive one time cost but realistically the tank may outlast the car.

http://skycng.com/cngtankproducts.php

TechGromit says

It's a nice dream cheaper fuel, but it doesn't add up in the end. Of course if gasoline prices spike to $10 a gallon in the future and Natural gas prices hold steady, it might make economic sense, but with all the new oil wells in the United States producing oil, I don't see prices spiking anytime in the next 5 years.

It all depends on how much you drive.

I agree though, for most families a nice diesel, hybrid or high mileage gasoline car is the way to go.

Natural gas powered cars do have a lot or promise, especially if used in a fuel cell or diesel pilot ignition engine.

Strategist says

Saudi Arabia and many other countries in the region know everything about their religion, and nothing about anything else. Building these tallest skyscrapers is just a feel good ego booster for people who still live in the 10th century.

This paragraph somehow made me feel like urging people in general to take a look in the mirror.

Not defending building empty skyscrapers in the middle east. Also not defending ego-boosting and equally empty oversized cars, SUVs and trucks used as passenger cars in the US.

TechGromit says

So your talking 9 years to pay for that premium in price of your natural gas car, and that's not even including the cost of Natural gas, at $2 a "gallon" of Natural gas, your car is going to have to last you 18 years, just to break even.

A few years ago, I worked remotely for the whole month from Lima Peru, so my wife could hang out with her folks. People convert cars over to Propane or NG for about $1200. Also all of the Gas stations service NG cars. The taxi driver I asked said he gets about 300 miles out of $7.00 worth of fuel.

justme says

Also not defending ego-boosting and equally empty oversized cars, SUVs and trucks used as passenger cars in the US.

The 10th century comment was funny, I think. But yours is ironic. The empty, shiny pickups and SUVs roaming the freeways have led to the empty shining buildings in Dubai.

@JH,

once in a while I manage to be subtle :-)

clambo says

It's about as useful as building a pyramid.

We could use our own natural gas and stop buying oil from Saudis.

This is what our national policy should be, not windmill schemes and Solyndra scams.

If the cost of using our own natural gas is the permanent damage to the water table and the environment, it would be far cheaper in the long run to keep buying Saudi oil.

History shows that building skyscrapers usually preceeds a bust.

fedwatcher says

History shows that building skyscrapers usually preceeds a bust

Tru Dat