BY THE NUMBERS

Irecently came across a site that compared commonly used metals in terms of the energy required to produce them. This raises interesting questions. Shall we criticize auto and motorcycle manufacturers for using more aluminum in their vehicles and less steel? The energy cost to win a kilogram of aluminum from its aluminum oxide (bauxite) ore is roughly 10 times greater than what is consumed in transforming iron into steel. Or shall we praise them because the lighter weight of the resulting vehicles requires less fuel to accelerate them in stop-and-go driving?

Imagine that I win the lottery and open the fabled Ducati accessory catalog in a whole new frame of that of a kilo of steel. Hmm, do you suppose there’s such a thing as a Ural accessory catalog?