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Plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles to cause modern day Dust Bowl?

03/12/2008, 12:42 PM

By Drew Johnson

As if a potential power drain on the nation’s power grids wasn’t bad enough, a new study has found another inherent pitfall in the switch to plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles. The new study finds that PHEVs and EVs could sharply increase water consumption in the U.S.

The study — which is titled “The Water Intensity of the Plugged-In Automotive Economy” and is scheduled to run in the June 1 issue of Environmental Science & Technology — finds that every mile of all-electric driving actually consumes about three times more water than a mile driven with gasoline power (0.32 versus 0.07-0.14 gallons per mile). According to Science Daily, that calculation is based on the water usage, consumption, and withdrawal during petroleum refining and electricity generation.

However, the authors of the article don’t see the increased water consumption of electric vehicle operation as a reason not to make the switch from oil, just something to consider. “This is not to say that the negative impacts on water resources make such a shift undesirable,” authors Carey King and Michael Webber told Science Daily. “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.”

While an increase in water consumption seems to be a fair trade-off for lower CO2 emissions, sections of the U.S. susceptible to droughts might want to grab a copy of the June 1 Environmental Science & Technology when it hits newsstands.

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03/12, 12:52 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

Time to start investing in desalinization plants.

03/12, 12:53 PM

posted by:

Z06ified

Alright, I’m missing something here. What process is using water when driving an electric vehicle??

03/12, 12:59 PM

posted by:

SS4LIFE

I’m stumped there too ZO6ified, I’m waiting for someone to answer that. How does that work people??

03/12, 1:11 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

It sounds like a crock to me too, but I think it has to do with the water used in power production. Cooling generators, transformers, and whatnot.

03/12, 1:16 PM

posted by:

livelyjay

Water is used to make electricity. Power plants boil water using coal, nuclear reaction, etc to create steam. The steam turns the turbine on the generator to create electricity. Power output has to increase to meet demand, therefore more water consumption by power plants. Still, the report sounds like a crock of s*** to me.

03/12, 1:26 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

Can I pee in public now?

03/12, 1:28 PM

posted by:

murphy1

its unanimous….this is a crock!!

03/12, 1:30 PM

posted by:

dmbpearl

The additional water consumption comes from the fact that a direct increase in hybrids and Plug-ins will increase the homo population by 40%. And we all know how much those queers love to workout at the gym, and in turn drink more water. It’s simple science guys.

03/12, 1:34 PM

posted by:

SmegmaVajayjay

You know what this means?

Okie refugees coming to a town near you

03/12, 1:37 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

I understand your science, dmbpearl, but when they put that theory to the test it turns out the homos rehydrated themselves by licking the sweat out of each other’s asscracks and washed it down with a swig of spunk.

03/12, 1:42 PM

posted by:

johnnycanuck

Blakkarr’s on to something. If the polar icecaps are all melting causing the ocean levels to rise, then let’s compensate for that with more desalination plants thereby solving both problems.

03/12, 1:45 PM

posted by:

injunraiv

LOL @ dmbpearl!

03/12, 1:55 PM

posted by:

SwerveEarly

This is quite a pickle we got ourselves into.
Oil is evil, Ethanol is bad now, nuclear is dangerous, Hybrids are going to dry us up, windmills are chopping up migratory birds, the production of solar panels and batteries cause cancer and destroy environment, hydro kills ecosystem and displaces millions in China. Where do we go from here?
WTF somebody better figure the perpetual motion machine out and quick.

03/12, 1:56 PM

posted by:

jumpoffit

so instead of poluting the air, we can dry the earth of water, yay! someone needs to find out how to use AIR as a source of travel……. and I don’t mean use a sail

03/12, 2:13 PM

posted by:

richt62167

RicardoHead

Unless you can pee water

03/12, 2:19 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

Richt, I thought it was gonna be desalinized.

03/12, 2:22 PM

posted by:

SS4LIFE

LMAO! You guys are cracking me up! It’s these kinds of comments that I’d like to see more on here instead of everyone just attacking each other and resorting to calling someone a homo or saying anything offensive. Keep the good stuff coming!

Ok yeah Blakkarr and livelyjay, it definitely makes sense why more water would then be used, but really that much water would be used up? Like you said Blakkarr couldn’t they just have more desalinization plants and use salt water from the abundance of water we get from the ocean? lol where I live I’m surrounded by water on all three sides of our state’s border and it’s all fresh so they better not touch that water! No pipelines either!

03/12, 2:29 PM

posted by:

cookie4me

The greens solution is to destroy free enterprise. They believe if you destroy commerce, you reduce energy consumption. This may be true for a short period of time until a destitute populace starts cutting and burning every tree in sight to keep warm in the winter. Last month, Bill Clinton even stated that we need a recession to reduce carbon emissions. A

03/12, 2:30 PM

posted by:

LBNA

AIR CAR!!!
http://www.theaircar.com/acf/air-cars/air-cars.html
There was another link to a car that was already being “produced” mainly as a concept/research vehicle which ran only on compressed air, but I can’t find the link right now.

03/12, 2:36 PM

posted by:

injunraiv

But the air is compressed by killing puppies!

03/12, 2:48 PM

posted by:

SS4LIFE

lol LBNA it’s true. In fact I know GM (and I’m sure all the automakers as well) have tested running vehicles on compressed air, natural gases, such as CO2, and more popular propane. I believe Chevy offers or did offer for industrial purposes a propane powered hybrid pick up.

Only problem is that with our current technology they don’t get the best mileage, which they are still working on.

Personally I think the answer is in Hydrogen power but that technology actually being viable is still a long way off.

Hey maybe if they can produce enough hydrogen powered cars that expense H2O as a by-product maybe it’ll equal out the water being consumed for PHEV’s!!!! LMAO!!

03/12, 2:49 PM

posted by:

frankhoffy

This report brought to you by America’s oil companies and OPEC

03/12, 3:08 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

These “green cars” are very likely going to cause the next alleged environmental disaster. All the water will have to go somewhere, and it will evaporate and turn to humidity bringing moisture to arid climates, causing more rain, hurricanes, and also killing species that need the dryer climate to survive. As lush tropical vegetation consumes the earth, large mosquitos will evolve that will suck the blood from us all and earth as we know it will wither and die.

So drive a carbon-emitting SUV and save the planet, I say.

03/12, 3:11 PM

posted by:

jumpoffit

i bet alQada is behind all this global warming and this report

03/12, 4:08 PM

posted by:

LuckyLou

Let’s just all get out and walk folks. We’re doomed!! Soon we’ll all be paying hundreds more to the tax man every year because it’s easier to loot us for carbon cash rather than attacking the real problems. In 10 years we’ll all be broke and burning coal in our living rooms while the elite will be driving 900hp “hybrid” SUVs.

03/12, 4:12 PM

posted by:

Z06ified


Water is used to make electricity. Power plants boil water using coal, nuclear reaction, etc to create steam. The steam turns the turbine on the generator to create electricity. Power output has to increase to meet demand, therefore more water consumption by power plants. Still, the report sounds like a crock of s*** to me.”

Comment by livelyjay, posted on March12 at 1:16 pm

I understand all that part, but the boiled water that turns to steam is still water, its just now water vapor which goes into the atmosphere. The water doesn’t disappear – it just gets transformed into water vapor, which will eventually turn into clouds when it cools and condenses, which in turn goes back into water and falls from the sky as rain or snow. If anything, I think this would cause more storms and rain and snow to fall, not less.

03/12, 4:13 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

Another dust bowl would be worse. Humidity dampens electrical transmission, it’s one of the reasons wireless power transmission doesn’t work well on Earth.

During the dust bowl those huge dust clouds were extremely dry and the static they generated would disable most electronic technology, computers, cell phones, basic radio communications and so on, today. Some stories from the Great Dust Bowl, tell that some people, caught outdoors, for whatever reason, were electrocuted by these dust storms, others smothered by the dust.

Weather patterns are being effected by global warming, caused or exaggerated (either or but it is still very real) by CO2 emissions created by machinery including automobiles. Rain patterns are being altered and areas are drying out. Normal cyclical patterns indicate that drought periods should not be this bad nor this long.

Although using plug-in Hybrids and pure-electric vehicles may take up more available water, this would likely be offset, over time, by weather patterns returning to closer to normal patterns. Driving a greener car is something everyone who drives can do to do they part in, if nothing else, not making things worse.

LBNA, SS4Life,

The AIR CAR is quite effective but we are not likely to see it in the US and some other areas of the world for some time. But expect it to show up in India and China and other such countries.

The version I am aware of uses normal atmospheric air with a built-in electrical generator and a small battery to run an air compressor to “pump” the car up. However you can plug-in the air compressor. Otherwise, it is nearly self-sustaining. The exhaust is chilled air, a by product of decompressing air and the same stuff that went in.

In some areas, the idea of fleets of these as taxis, and couriers could act like air conditioning in warmer areas of the world.

The AIR CAR is about the size of the TATA Nano and actually a bit more powerful. It wouldn’t take much to build such a car the size of a Honda Civic. But performance is still wanting. However, leave to those who will use it to make it better. It won’t be any large established company we might think of first. Okay, maybe TATA…

Also, SS4Life,

I think you may be thinking of a Hydraulic Hybrid. This system uses Nitrogen, in a sealed system, not to far removed from the AIR CAR, to launch the vehicle. Just driving and braking the normal gasoline or diesel drivetrain provides the pumping action to charge the system, rather quickly.

It is mainly aimed at large service trucks that make numerous stops and starts. However, I have seen a few concepts CARS that use the technology but it is bulky and it’s limited usefulness makes it best suited to large trucks.

GM and FORD were both working on their own versions. GM fielded the system for UPS and other fleet trucks who reported a 70% improvement in F/econ. But the trucks have not gotten to all areas yet and do cost more that the normal trucks. Despite saving money on fuel, Fleets still have to break even on vehicles they purchased already before buying more Hydraulic Hybrid trucks or the upgraded. UPS and FEDEX keep their own motor pools so if it can be done, it will.

Like most technologies of this nature, word on them is hard to come by. It isn’t the most exciting nor would it be likely to be suited to the average consumer. As a result, no one is expecting the Hydraulic hybrids to make any waves except with those who would need it most. Large fleets of large trucks.

03/12, 4:53 PM

posted by:

pmpvtkc

Zero Point Energy is the solution.

03/12, 4:59 PM

posted by:

pmpvtkc

This report is a crock of ****. Water doesn’t disappear, if it gets boiled, it goes to the sky, clouds, rain or snow, it eventually comes back to the ground!

03/12, 5:18 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

a higher global humidity level will wreak environmental havoc, I’m telling you. The greentards will be begging for the internal combustion engine.

03/12, 5:25 PM

posted by:

SS4LIFE

Very informative Blakkarr, I didn’t know how the technology of atmospheric air worked. Thanks! :)

03/12, 7:18 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

Yeah. it’s kinda’ like one of those “air hogs” airplanes, but a lot bigger and more useful.

03/12, 7:45 PM

posted by:

bigp

the hydrogens cars will drip out the water that the phev and thev cars use up.

03/12, 8:01 PM

posted by:

autonut

We need to develop a dog sled for highway. Dogs don’t fart as much as cows and horses, but move sled at a decent speed. That’s the solution!

03/12, 8:23 PM

posted by:

Jon Luc

Great! Another study sponsored by the oil companies.

03/12, 10:31 PM

posted by:

jdasch1

What a crock of ****!!!!!!! Scam alert!!!! Electric vehicles can get their power from solar panels if they have to…wheres the water consumption there? Wind power?? Solar panels should be standard equiptment on every rooftop…paid for by tax money…oh wait…we don’t have the tax money…its all going to Iraq and Afgan. Oh well..at least our hard earned tax money is going to countries that like us…yah

03/12, 11:08 PM

posted by:

DeansterTJ

I have an idea – move to the center of your city and WALK everywhere. That’s free. No coal, no oil, no gas, no electricity. Nothing. And the bonus is you lose the all-American triple chin!

03/13, 7:22 AM

posted by:

JohnnyBlazE

All hail Petroleum Distillate!

03/13, 8:13 AM

posted by:

LBNA

Blakkarr, I think the Air Car you are talking about is the other one I’m thinking about. I think it was also being developed in India, but I can’t be sure.
Thanks for the other info.

03/14, 12:20 AM

posted by:

nitehawk

this really this BS propaganda by the oil industry. load of shyt!

 
 
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