|
|
Article: Ethanol's growth may produce water shortages.
- Article from:
- The Food & Fiber Letter
- Article date:
- June 22, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Informa Economics, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Running cars on biofuels from corn and sorghum requires much more water than using fossil fuels, and the mass production of ethanol to follow federal mandates could result in water shortages in some areas, according to a study by Rice University scientists.
The report, written by Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and three colleagues was funded by Rice University's Shell Center for Sustainability.
The researchers asked if increased biofuel-driven agriculture will affect water-resource availability and degrade water quality. They pointed out that fuel crops require large quantities of water and that water ...