Electric cars could lead to water shortages

Mother Nature gives with one hand but takes away with another. The great white hope for eco-friendly transportation might have a few strings attached, as scientists worry that switching from oil-powered vehicles to electricity could strain water supplies.

The reason? More power plants would be needed to create enough electricity to recharge these cars' batteries, and those plants use a surprising amount of water to keep things cool. In fact, it's estimated that each mile driven via electrical power requires three times the amount of water than it does in gasoline.

That may not sound like much since water is so plentiful, but in drought-stricken areas of the world, that could be a catastrophic problem without some clever planning.

The good news is that solutions to a cooling water shortage are far more evident than those that address $110 oil prices and the concerns of global warming. Using seawater or wastewater is an obvious fix, especially for newly built power plants that could be located anywhere, and green advocates obviously hope that fewer future plants will feature coolant-hungry, coal-filed generators and more will tout renewable sources like solar and wind power.

Still, it's good that someone has shed some light on the unique challenges that an all-electrical transportation grid might create. Even if it's ultimately a simple fix, it's a helpful reminder that no technology comes as a free lunch, and that we'll have to plan and ration our resource usage no matter what high-tech solutions we develop.