This drink-or-drive issue has nothing to do with alcohol

Actually, it does. But the alcohol in question is ethanol, and the issue is: Will ethanol production result in less water to drink?

That's the question posed by S&T environmental engineering professor Joel Burken with colleagues from Rice University and Clarkson University. The researchers write in the May 1 issue of Environmental Science & Technology that the "water footprint" of biofuel production in the Midwest could cost 50 gallons of water per mile driven.

The article -- titled The Water Footprint of Biofuels: A Drink or Drive Issue? -- is Environmental Science & Technology's May Day cover story. In it, Burken and his co-authors depart from previous studies, which have examined biofuel production's impact on air quality, land use and net energy value, to take a look at how it might affect water resources. "The overall water footprint associated with biofuels must recognize the impact of increased agricultural activity on water quality as well as water consumption," they write.

In their article, the researchers also suggest that federal regulators take a closer look at how a push for bioenergy will affect water resources. More details in this news release.