It would be nice to oblige datacenters to be powered exclusively by renewable energy sources that they have to build first as a prerequisite to their construction permit. Each community could add some clauses of energy overproduction to be injected in the public grid, allowing to lower the cost of energy for local communities themselves.
The US has 5,400 DCs and an average 50MW DC consumes 1-5 million galloons of clean water DAILY, polluting it in the process and draining aquifers, while emitting 4,000,000,000 BTUs + into the surrounding environment DAILY, creating "heat islands" up to 16 degF hotter out to 3mi from the DC. Perhaps most importantly in Trumpistan, AI is taking over for the human mind's capacity for critical thinking and analysis, so dumbing down an already infotainment saturated media environment. Here in Marietta, Ohio, we get 14' of national/world news nightly on the two Parkersburg TV channels. I recommend reading Jeff Goodell's 2025 "The Heat Will Kill you First". The very last thing we humans need on this massively overheated planet is MORE HEAT! NO MORE DATA CENTERS!
The data centers really need to be powered by renewable energy and not planet heating fossil fuels! Sadly the republicans of Trumpestan will not hear of that! 😡
Unfortunately Shapiro’s plan will only allow sociopathic tech bros time to create a framework of cooperation they have no intention of honoring. This is typical of tech - promised safeguards that never materialize.
I think the days of unregulated data center construction are pretty much over and that’s a good thing! But I don’t want a complete halt of construction. I think Shapiro has a pretty good middle ground for Pennsylvania! Good luck 🍀
Interesting literary techniques for telling people we can "live" with data centers. Given how the comments are presented it accomplished exactly what the author intended. Push people against data centers from 71% to 90%. With endorsements like this who needs enemies?
The author set the stage for the reader by relating unrelated issues. "….overturning ROE v WADE [is] tearing up the rights of millions of women." This isn't an inalienable right for anyone to end a life but it was a poorly decided legal doctrine that fell with a minor challenge. Either way what does it have to do with data centers?
Cherry-pick the Gallup poll for emotional hot-button arguments like resources, quality of life, effect on costs?, pollution, as if they are self-explanatory, then counter with the profit motive for justification. The discussion consists of land use can't be addressed, (except they use less land than the proposed renewable resources (solar & wind), and less than many manufacturing plants). New York justifiably (really?) imposed a moratorium because of this and the high use of electricity, but then they've shut down so many power plants they don't have enough power for their residential users so they actually had to. Because Texas focused so much on solar plants and wind farms they had blackouts last year so Abbot didn't really have a choice either. I think the author just missed this. Shapiro's solution is to make Data Centers pay for the power they use (Now that's a revelation) and conserve water (hmmm - the new data centers use less than 3 AF of water annually which is equivalent to 3 households of 4 people w/ 0.5 acres lawn)
All in all very hollow arguments with few facts and lots of prejudicial arguments like predatory practices, which is unlawful, and irresponsible from which companies go bankrupt.
Nobody will see much in the way of "benefits", economic or otherwise, if the planet becomes uninhabitable.
Comparing with other industries or domestic use is straightforward whataboutery. Yes, society already uses a vast amount of energy and water and emits a vast amount of CO2. What part of thar makes it OK to make this worse? In some cases we're talking about the construction and operation of some of the largest single emitters of greenhouse gasses in the US.
It would be nice to oblige datacenters to be powered exclusively by renewable energy sources that they have to build first as a prerequisite to their construction permit. Each community could add some clauses of energy overproduction to be injected in the public grid, allowing to lower the cost of energy for local communities themselves.
The US has 5,400 DCs and an average 50MW DC consumes 1-5 million galloons of clean water DAILY, polluting it in the process and draining aquifers, while emitting 4,000,000,000 BTUs + into the surrounding environment DAILY, creating "heat islands" up to 16 degF hotter out to 3mi from the DC. Perhaps most importantly in Trumpistan, AI is taking over for the human mind's capacity for critical thinking and analysis, so dumbing down an already infotainment saturated media environment. Here in Marietta, Ohio, we get 14' of national/world news nightly on the two Parkersburg TV channels. I recommend reading Jeff Goodell's 2025 "The Heat Will Kill you First". The very last thing we humans need on this massively overheated planet is MORE HEAT! NO MORE DATA CENTERS!
The data centers really need to be powered by renewable energy and not planet heating fossil fuels! Sadly the republicans of Trumpestan will not hear of that! 😡
Both will emit the SAME AMOUNT OF WASTE HEAT.
Unfortunately Shapiro’s plan will only allow sociopathic tech bros time to create a framework of cooperation they have no intention of honoring. This is typical of tech - promised safeguards that never materialize.
I think the days of unregulated data center construction are pretty much over and that’s a good thing! But I don’t want a complete halt of construction. I think Shapiro has a pretty good middle ground for Pennsylvania! Good luck 🍀
"17 billion gallons of water a year is less than household use"
uh, put this in perspective please.
Whose household might that be?
Whose household might that be?
Interesting literary techniques for telling people we can "live" with data centers. Given how the comments are presented it accomplished exactly what the author intended. Push people against data centers from 71% to 90%. With endorsements like this who needs enemies?
The author set the stage for the reader by relating unrelated issues. "….overturning ROE v WADE [is] tearing up the rights of millions of women." This isn't an inalienable right for anyone to end a life but it was a poorly decided legal doctrine that fell with a minor challenge. Either way what does it have to do with data centers?
Cherry-pick the Gallup poll for emotional hot-button arguments like resources, quality of life, effect on costs?, pollution, as if they are self-explanatory, then counter with the profit motive for justification. The discussion consists of land use can't be addressed, (except they use less land than the proposed renewable resources (solar & wind), and less than many manufacturing plants). New York justifiably (really?) imposed a moratorium because of this and the high use of electricity, but then they've shut down so many power plants they don't have enough power for their residential users so they actually had to. Because Texas focused so much on solar plants and wind farms they had blackouts last year so Abbot didn't really have a choice either. I think the author just missed this. Shapiro's solution is to make Data Centers pay for the power they use (Now that's a revelation) and conserve water (hmmm - the new data centers use less than 3 AF of water annually which is equivalent to 3 households of 4 people w/ 0.5 acres lawn)
All in all very hollow arguments with few facts and lots of prejudicial arguments like predatory practices, which is unlawful, and irresponsible from which companies go bankrupt.
Panic more!
Nobody will see much in the way of "benefits", economic or otherwise, if the planet becomes uninhabitable.
Comparing with other industries or domestic use is straightforward whataboutery. Yes, society already uses a vast amount of energy and water and emits a vast amount of CO2. What part of thar makes it OK to make this worse? In some cases we're talking about the construction and operation of some of the largest single emitters of greenhouse gasses in the US.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/amazon-data-center-largest-pollution-source-texas-usa