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Radio Show & Podcast Feedback / Re: Discuss: Naked Science Q&A Show
« on: 05/11/2009 10:57:13 »
I was catching up with Pod Casts and I just heard the 11/3/08 with the story about electric cars using up scarce water supplies. This is not a very well thought out study and offers up another excuse not to keep using gasoline powered cars. That the study was from University of Texas, a state where the oil industry is very powerful, is no surprise.
The statement was made, "an electric car uses three times as much water as a gasoline powered car." Possibly true while at the same time meaningless. My current gasoline powered car had 6 liters in the radiator when I bought and 40,000 miles later has had no water added. Three times a very small number is still a small number.
During the recent drought electric generators had trouble getting water because there was none to get, not because they used so much water. Far more water is used for agriculture than is used in electrical generation.
Speaking as an American, the last thing we need is another excuse to keep wasting gasoline.
The statement was made, "an electric car uses three times as much water as a gasoline powered car." Possibly true while at the same time meaningless. My current gasoline powered car had 6 liters in the radiator when I bought and 40,000 miles later has had no water added. Three times a very small number is still a small number.
During the recent drought electric generators had trouble getting water because there was none to get, not because they used so much water. Far more water is used for agriculture than is used in electrical generation.
Speaking as an American, the last thing we need is another excuse to keep wasting gasoline.