Turns out that electricity production is a far more H2O-intensive process than oil refining, being required in the mining stages for coal and other fossil fueled plants, as well as in power plant cooling. Oil and gas production uses water too, but apparently not nearly as much. Overall, the researchers estimate that a gas to electric vehicle switchover would mean three times as much water consumed (lost to evaporation) and 17 times as much used and returned to the source.
While the study doesn't advocate abandoning the idea of cleaner cars, they point out that public policy around water will have to be taken into account when considering the large-scale introduction of electrics, especially in areas like parts of the southwestern US where drought is already a problem. They also recommend moving towards methods of electrical generation that don't use as much water, such as air-cooled rather than water-cooled power plants.
Hey, you know what else doesn't use much water? Riding a bike.
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