By IANS
Washington : With crude oil at $110 a barrel, hybrid and electric cars may well seem the need of the hour. But they too will come at a cost – they will severely strain scarce water resources, warns a new study.
Each mile driven with electricity consumes about three times more water than each mile driven with petrol, the study found, reports Sciencedaily.
Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber calculated water usage, consumption and withdrawal during petroleum refining and power generation in the US.
“This is not to say that the negative impacts on water resources make such a shift undesirable,” King and Webber emphasised.
“Rather this increase in water usage presents a significant potential impact on regional water resources and should be considered when planning for a plugged-in automotive economy.”
The article is scheduled for publication in the forthcoming issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.