Cost of Obtaining Nonrenewable Resources
The fraction of capital allocated to obtaining resources is dependent only on the nonrenewable_resource_fraction_remaining, or abbreviated nrfr. This variable is the current amount of non-renewable resources divided by the initial amount of non-renewable resources available. As such nrfr starts out as 1.0 and decreases as world3 runs. Fraction of capital allocated to obtaining resources is dependent on nrfr as interpolated values from the following table:
| NRFR | FCAOR |
|---|---|
| 0.0 | 1.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.9 |
| 0.2 | 0.7 |
| 0.3 | 0.5 |
| 0.4 | 0.2 |
| 0.5 | 0.1 |
| 0.6 | 0.05 |
| 0.7 | 0.05 |
| 0.8 | 0.05 |
| 0.9 | 0.05 |
| 1.0 | 0.05 |
Qualitatively, this basically states that the relative amount of non-renewable resources decreases, the amount capital required to extract the resources increases. To more deeply examine this table requires examining the equation that it comes from, effective_output = industrial_capital*other_factors*(1-fcaor) So, if industrial capital and the other factors (described in the capital sector) are the same, then 1 unit of the effective capital when nrfr is 1.0 the effective output is 0.95 (= 1.0 * ( 1 - 0.05)). So, when nrfr is 0.5, the effective output is 0.90 (= 1.0 * (1 - 0.10)). Another useful way to look at this equation is to reverse it and see how much effective capital is required to get 1 unit of effective output (i.e. effective_output / (1 - fcaor) = effective_capital). So, when nrfr is 1.0, the effective capital required for 1 unit of effective output is 1.053 (=1.0/(1-0.05)), and when nrfr is 0.3, the effective capital required is 2 (=1.0/(1-0.5)). Lastly is looking at the relative cost required for obtaining the resources. This based on the fact that it requires 1/19 of a unit of effective capital extra when the nrfr is 1.0. So, (effective capital required - 1.0) / (1 / 19) will give the relative cost of obtaining the resources compared to the cost of obtaining them when nrfr was 1.0. For example, when nrfr is 0.3, the effective capital required is 2.0, and 1.0 of that is for obtaining resources. So, the cost of obtaining the resources is (2.0 - 1.0) / ( 1 / 19) or 1.0*19 or 19 times the cost when nrfr was 1.0. Here is a table showing these calculations for all the values:
| NRFR | FCAOR | Required Capital | Relative Resource Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 1.0 | ∞ | ∞ |
| 0.1 | 0.9 | 10.0 | 171.0 |
| 0.2 | 0.7 | 3.333 | 44.333 |
| 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 19.0 |
| 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.250 | 4.750 |
| 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.111 | 2.111 |
| 0.6 | 0.05 | 1.053 | 1.0 |
| 0.7 | 0.05 | 1.053 | 1.0 |
| 0.8 | 0.05 | 1.053 | 1.0 |
| 0.9 | 0.05 | 1.053 | 1.0 |
| 1.0 | 0.05 | 1.053 | 1.0 |
Read more about this topic: World3 Nonrenewable Resource Sector
Famous quotes containing the words cost of, cost, obtaining and/or resources:
“One must always be aware, to notice—even though the cost of noticing is to become responsible.”
—Thylias Moss, African American poet. As quoted in the Wall Street Journal (May 12, 1994)
“Every new stroke of civilization has cost the lives of countless brave men, who have fallen defeated by the “dragon,” in their efforts to win the apples of the Hesperides, or the fleece of gold. Fallen in their efforts to overcome the old, half sordid savagery of the lower stages of creation, and win the next stage.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“And if the civilized man’s pursuits are no worthier than the savage’s, if he is employed the greater part of his life in obtaining gross necessaries and comforts merely, why should he have a better dwelling than the former?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Everywhere we are told that our human resources are all to be used, that our civilization itself means the uses of everything it has—the inventions, the histories, every scrap of fact. But there is one kind of knowledge—infinitely precious, time- resistant more than monuments, here to be passed between the generations in any way it may be: never to be used. And that is poetry.”
—Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)