Nostr notes by Gerry McGovern

Data centers are swapping water for forever chemicals to keep AI ...

2026-09-18T11:12:51Z

Data centers are swapping water for forever chemicals to keep AI cool

https://fortune.com/2026/09/18/data-centers-ai-compute-pfas-forever-chemicals-water/

Classic Big Tech

Forever chemicals are amongst the most harmful chemicals known

"In September 2026 when Altman told the Sources podcast that ...

2026-09-08T08:40:24Z

"In September 2026 when Altman told the Sources podcast that 38,000 ChatGPT queries used the same amount of water as producing one California almond. He acknowledged that he was recalling the comparison from memory and that it could be wrong. Business Insider said it could not independently verify the claim."

https://memeburn.com/ai-water-consumption-statistics-2026-and-key-findings/

It could be wrong?

Now, Sammy Altman wouldn't lie, would he? He isn't known for lying, sure he isn't?

‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers ...

2026-08-28T11:02:03Z

‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/feb/05/in-the-end-you-feel-blank-indias-female-workers-watching-hours-of-abusive-content-to-train-ai

Invisible labour behind 'intelligent' machines
https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-invisible-labour-behind-intelligent-machines/

Exploited Data Workers in Global South Are “the Secret Ingredient of AI”
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/27/data_workers

Inside Venezuela’s Hidden Workforce Training AI Algorithms for Pennies
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/27/ai_platform_extractivism

Inside the world of Kenya’s ‘shadow scholars’ paid to write essays for UK students
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/14/kenya-shadow-scholars-paid-to-write-essays-for-uk-students

In Texas and New Mexico, AI data centers may consume 10 times ...

2026-08-15T10:27:40Z

In Texas and New Mexico, AI data centers may consume 10 times more water than Big Tech says

With drought already pressuring parts of Texas and New Mexico, farmers and other residents are questioning how valid Big Tech's claims are about its resource use.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/texas-mexico-ai-data-centers-173800131.html

"The Dalles asked the Forest Service for permission to ...

2026-08-08T10:46:50Z

"The Dalles asked the Forest Service for permission to greatly expand a pipeline and pumping infrastructure. We were concerned that the expanded capacity could be used to divert more water to fuel data center growth, but the city convinced the Mount Hood National Forest that no such plans existed."

Politicians have denied that the water is for Google. However, a review by Oregon Public Broadcasting found many of their claims factually inaccurate.

https://oregonwild.org/action/stop-the-mount-hood-data-center-land-grab/

From an "efficiency" point of view, where is the best ...

2026-08-04T13:36:58Z

From an "efficiency" point of view, where is the best place to put a water-guzzling data center?

A desert.

Yes, a desert.

Process Engineer Explains: The Math Behind "Water-Efficient AI Data Centres" Is Laughably Wrong
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8bbe-Ev-Yns

Some people are commenting--with the best will in the world--that ...

2026-08-04T12:53:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…mkag
_________________________

Some people are commenting--with the best will in the world--that once data centers are using 'renewable' energy, then basically everything is heading in the right direction.

I'm told that there are plans around Foyle, Derry to build even more huge wind factories on the mountains to supply these new data centers. This will be sold as a "green" win. The local communities are very much opposed. What we are seeing is the industrialization of the countryside sold as "green".

There are range of data centers proposed for Foyle, Derry, ...

2026-08-04T10:08:44Z

There are range of data centers proposed for Foyle, Derry, Ireland. The community has been able to get access to a large quantity of disclosure documentation but they don't have the technical expertise to understand them. Much of it relates to how water will be used.

Is there anyone out there who might be able to help them?

Big Tech has a 'solution' for its water use! "While ...

2026-07-29T11:51:42Z

Big Tech has a 'solution' for its water use!

"While liquid cooling systems may reduce—but not eliminate—data center water use, they often rely on dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are highly toxic, lab-made chemicals that persist in the environment and harm many systems of the human body. Data centers are poised to increase the use of these “forever chemicals” just as some other industries are phasing them out."

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FSW_2607_DataCenterPFAS.pdf

The Valley of Pimps and Pushers (aka Silicon Valley) keep the ...

2026-07-20T16:05:18Z

The Valley of Pimps and Pushers (aka Silicon Valley) keep the drugs out of their own neighborhood

"As far back as 2010, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs told a New York Times reporter his kids had never used an iPad and that “we limit how much technology our kids use at home.”

https://fortune.com/article/peter-thiel-tech-billionaires-limit-kids-screen-time-social-media-smartphones-short-form-video-risks/

In the heatwaves of the future, the data centers will get to ...

2026-07-12T10:50:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…ul7x
_________________________

In the heatwaves of the future, the data centers will get to drink, you won't

"Meeting the growing water demand of data centers requires substantial peak water withdrawals, which many communities in the United States cannot supply, especially during the hottest days of the year."

https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.02705

Why so secretive about all your water use, Big Tech? What have ...

2026-07-12T10:29:28Z

Why so secretive about all your water use, Big Tech?

What have you got to hide?

"The Dalles spent 13 months fighting to keep Google’s water use secret — then records showed the data center campus consumed roughly a third of the Oregon city’s supply."

https://scienceblog.com/j-the-town-of-the-dalles-oregon-spent-two-years-fighting-google-in-court-just-to-learn-how-much-of-its-river-water-the-companys-data-centers-were-using-and-when-the-numbers-finally-came-out-they-revea/

Big Tech has an amazing, innovative solution to global drought ...

2026-07-08T11:18:25Z

Big Tech has an amazing, innovative solution to global drought crisis

They're going to replace all golf courses with data centers!

"A golf course in Kogarah, in Sydney's southern suburbs is being replaced by a data center'

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-golf-course-in-the-middle-of-sydney-s-data-centre-land-rush-20260706-p60cyn.html

When I was a child in the 1970s, living on a small farm, my ...

2026-07-05T13:48:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…rdr2
_________________________

When I was a child in the 1970s, living on a small farm, my brother worked in Dublin about 100 km away. He'd sometimes drive home at weekend. A job I had was to clean the car grill and the windscreen. There were so many insects, so many insects. Not anymore.

Lord Caramac the Clueless, KSC (npub1r8k…ddv2)

More than half of South Dakota is experiencing drought. ...

2026-07-05T10:18:37Z

More than half of South Dakota is experiencing drought.

They're planning for a huge data center there anyway

The question now is not whether data centers are coming. It is who pays.

The environment, of course!

"This is why degrowth is not merely a hard sell. It is a ...

2026-07-04T11:11:19Z

"This is why degrowth is not merely a hard sell. It is a politics without a base. It asks democratic governments to pursue deliberate contraction in systems where parties compete on prosperity, voters punish governments for economically bad times and organised interests fight to protect their gains. The ecological realism of degrowth is strong. Its political theory is weak."

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2026/07/03/climate-change-politics-degrowth/

"Both Google and Amazon released their sustainability reports ...

2026-07-03T11:05:03Z

"Both Google and Amazon released their sustainability reports this week, and the numbers aren’t pretty. Each company has pledged to zero-out its carbon emissions in the coming years, but AI has made those goals a lot harder to hit. Google’s total carbon emissions are up 25% since last year, Amazon’s are up 16%."

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/02/a-warning-sign-about-ais-real-cost-courtesy-of-google-and-amazon/

This is a massive environment-destroying crisis caused by Big Tech. What are we going to do?

I've spent 30 years working with some of the largest ...

2026-06-29T11:45:39Z

I've spent 30 years working with some of the largest organizations in the world on their data and content.

Here's a universal truth.

Most data is slop.

Most data is crap.

At least 90% of data in a typical org should be deleted. Data centers were slop-houses long before slop AI.

Data centers are glorified data dumps and senior management has never, ever cared because it's always been "cheaper" to "solve" the data problem by buying more storage.

We are killing the planet for crap data.

“What about our resources? What’s happening to the water? ...

2026-06-29T06:31:53Z

“What about our resources? What’s happening to the water? Who’s paying for all this energy and am I going to foot that bill? What will the future impact on health be from these monstrosities? What’s going to happen to the wildlife?”

“It’s happening in every US state, multiple counties, rural areas, ranches, farms and neighbourhoods. People watch nature because they respect it, they need it. And they’re watching it being destroyed,” says Brockovich.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/29/were-up-against-forces-that-have-all-the-money-in-the-world-erin-brockovich-on-her-battle-against-ai-datacentres

it's gambling and grifting and criminal behaviour. Business ...

2026-06-09T10:47:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…rqet
_________________________

it's gambling and grifting and criminal behaviour. Business as usual.

Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit ...

2026-06-09T10:25:46Z

Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land

“The AI industry is sprinting as fast as it can to gain market dominance, and the rest of us have to deal with a great increase in water demand in places already in drought,” said Christopher Dalbom, an expert in water resources law at Tulane University.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/datacenter-ai-drought-water

The tech bros will burn everything to the ground to be the last man standing over a pile of bones and ashes

#datacenters

Our world is in flames, our soils are collapsing, the very land ...

2026-06-06T19:31:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…le8z
_________________________

Our world is in flames, our soils are collapsing, the very land is drying out.

To the rescue, Big Tech sends giant AI data center fire trucks. They park in poor neighbourhoods and suck up all the water they can get.

But do they put the fire out? No. Their data hoses are blow torches, burning energy, spreading lies and cheap entertainment. Convincing middle-aged mediocre men they are on the hero's journey.

We don't have to accept this

We can still resist

Sadly, batteries are among the most toxic products ever ...

2026-05-26T14:04:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…mtf5
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Sadly, batteries are among the most toxic products ever developed, with the potential to do environmental damage for generations.

The problem is solar and wind are sold as clean and green and renewable, none of which is true. Massive quantities of copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, aluminum, etc. etc., are required. And then these wind and solar factories are often installed on Indigenous land. The only solution is a vast reduction in energy consumption.

EF (npub1mk7…5ktw)

'Insect apocalypse' is already fueling malnutrition in ...

2026-05-23T13:18:19Z

'Insect apocalypse' is already fueling malnutrition in some regions, first-of-its-kind study reveals
Science did this.
Congratulations, science
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/humanitys-ancient-bond-with-biodiversity-is-visible-in-rock-art-analysis/

Since 1970, there has been a:

50% decline in insects

73% collapse in wildlife numbers

49% decline in marine life

69% decline in vertebrates

83% decline in freshwater species

And now we have AI

So much progress.

So much winning.

Yeah, let's fill the sea with wind turbines and data centres, ...

2026-05-20T15:51:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…2qez
_________________________

Yeah, let's fill the sea with wind turbines and data centres, and we can mine the deep sea to get the materials to build all these marvels. They just want growth at any cost, don't they.

GhostOnTheHalfShell (npub1z3l…txvc)

AI keeps on delivering Before the AI "Dragontail's ...

2026-05-19T12:26:02Z

AI keeps on delivering

Before the AI "Dragontail's rollout, Chaac says more than 90% of its pizza deliveries arrived within 30 minutes, and the company consistently posted double-digit sales growth and guest-satisfaction scores above system averages. After Pizza Hut rolled out Dragontail in 2024, the franchisee says delivery performance sharply deteriorated."

https://www.businessinsider.com/pizza-hut-ai-system-dragontail-lawsuit-franchisee-2026-5

How the data centers operate. Always in secrecy. "When the ...

2026-05-10T10:54:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…xdu0
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How the data centers operate. Always in secrecy.

"When the county utility investigated, officials discovered two industrial-scale water hookups feeding a data center campus located 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed."

https://www.flyingpenguin.com/datacenter-sprawl-pushes-georgia-into-dangerous-water/

In other places, they don't have to steal the water: they get it for free.

A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed — until ...

2026-05-10T10:50:48Z

A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed — until residents complained about low water pressure

Residents in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed low water pressure last year. The utility discovered two unaccounted-for water connections at one of the nation’s largest data center campuses.

“We get this notification from Fayette County water system saying you need to stop watering your lawns to help conserve water."

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/08/georgia-data-centers-water-00909988

Yes, absolutely. The commons and many other highly sustainable ...

2026-05-10T10:37:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…s8vs
_________________________

Yes, absolutely. The commons and many other highly sustainable systems were how most humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Humans have long shown that we can live sustainably and fairly. This modern scientific capitalist system is literally a cancer on our environment. It will devour everything. We live in a Growth Death Cult, ruled by the worst of the worst of narcissistic, greedy men.

D Ingram (npub1al3…9s9x) Knud Jahnke (npub10q6…mx30)

Nothing remotely compares to the Europeans. The Europeans have ...

2026-05-10T10:29:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…q8yx
_________________________

Nothing remotely compares to the Europeans. The Europeans have always been master of genocide and ecocide. Nothing comes even close.

Indigenous cultures are incredibly various but there is lots of evidence out there of Indigenous cultures behaving vastly--vastly--better in relation to the environment, than European imperialists whose whole religion has been to colonize and subdue.

Deb Nam-Krane (npub1yq0…hfrz) Knud Jahnke (npub10q6…mx30)

Humans are not necessarily damaging to ecosystems. Some of the ...

2026-05-10T10:10:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…6spj
_________________________

Humans are not necessarily damaging to ecosystems. Some of the most bio-diverse ecosystems in the worlds are so because of Indigenous people and how they have learned to integrate with nature. Humans can be good partners and protectors of Nature. Modern, particularly Western civilization is a devourer of Nature.

Deb Nam-Krane (npub1yq0…hfrz) Knud Jahnke (npub10q6…mx30)

There's nothing remotely "clean" about solar. Just ...

2026-05-08T16:11:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…nw73
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There's nothing remotely "clean" about solar. Just because something is less dirty in one area does not make it clean. Modern tech is inherently toxic. We must seek to radically reduce energy use.

Deb Nam-Krane (npub1yq0…hfrz)

well, that's it. China controls 80% of the global solar ...

2026-05-08T15:34:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…lmrw
_________________________

well, that's it. China controls 80% of the global solar market and 70% of the wind power market, and a growing slice of the EV market ... all made with coal!

Coal produces about 33% of global electricity Solar and wind ...

2026-05-08T15:29:15Z

Coal produces about 33% of global electricity
Solar and wind produce 8–9% each
Electricity meets about 20% of total energy demand
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/coal-still-powers-more-electricity/

"The year 2025 recorded the largest net addition to global coal capacity in over a decade, driven largely by China amid the country’s heightened energy security concerns."
https://www.bu.edu/gdp/2026/04/28/resurgence-to-retirement-global-insights-on-transitioning-away-from-coal/

China accounts for 55.8% of global coal consumption
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-worlds-biggest-coal-consumers/

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere just hit a ...

2026-05-06T09:06:16Z

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere just hit a ‘depressing’ new record
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carbon-dioxide-levels-in-the-atmosphere-just-hit-a-depressing-record-high/

Solar energy is reaching record highs.

Wind energy is reaching record highs

Coal energy is reaching record highs

Oil and gas energy are reaching record highs.

The problem is growth. We live in the final stages of a Growth Death Cult.

We are in the worst of all worlds:
More wood
More coal
More oil
More gas
More hydro
More nuclear
More wind
More solar

It's an energy CONSUMPTION crisis.

They have plans for 100 lithium mines in the USA alone. And ...

2026-05-05T14:28:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…3t5x
_________________________

They have plans for 100 lithium mines in the USA alone.

And aluminum is hugely damaging to tropical forests, where the bauxite for it is found. Just was at a presentation about how bauxite mining is wiping out large parts of the Amazon. All of this stuff has huge environmental costs.

All over the world, the mining oligarchs are coming for the ...

2026-05-05T10:11:01Z

All over the world, the mining oligarchs are coming for the copper

Traditional landowners are fighting back against plans to reopen an existing Bougainville copper mine which has remained dormant for nearly four decades.

https://nit.com.au/05-05-2026/24078/bougainville-landowners-demand-mining-companies-halt-reopening-of-copper-pit

'Unprecedented drought conditions': More than 500 data ...

2026-05-04T12:47:04Z

'Unprecedented drought conditions': More than 500 data centers across Nevada, California, and Arizona could feel the pinch as the iconic Hoover Dam potentially loses 40% of its power output because of poor rainfall and abnormally low snowpack numbers.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/unprecedented-drought-conditions-more-than-500-data-centers-across-nevada-california-and-arizona-could-feel-the-pinch-as-the-iconic-hoover-dam-could-lose-40-of-its-power-output-because-of-poor-rainfall-and-abnormally-low-snowpack-numbers

A surging global water crisis and an AI boom do not mix well

Goverment sues a newspaper to stop it telling the public how much ...

2026-05-04T12:37:47Z

Goverment sues a newspaper to stop it telling the public how much water Google is using

"While the bill marks an escalation in the city’s water woes, the dispute regarding how much flows where goes back to 2021, when The Dalles sued The Oregonian, the state's largest newspaper, over public records requests. If granted, it would have revealed Google's local data center’s water usage. Instead, the lawsuit kept the data private."

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/data-centers-are-hogging-town-s-water

I know that we are in a bad water situation and are under ...

2026-04-30T10:20:49Z

I know that we are in a bad water situation and are under restrictions. Then, why do so many companies get to use so many tons of water, but we can’t?

Are these Artificial Intelligence Units using more water than a little city does in total in one day?

Per “Unit” (Data Center): A single, large, data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day, which is comparable to the daily water usage of a town with 10,000 to 50,000 people.

Really?

https://www.ocala-news.com/2026/04/28/i-dont-know-if-water-usage-restrictions-apply-to-data-centers-using-millions-of-gallons/

Remember, if "Earth has become a huge mine" then Earth ...

2026-04-20T15:16:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…e58t
_________________________

Remember, if "Earth has become a huge mine" then Earth has become a huge dump, because 99%--sometimes 99.9%--of metals mining is toxic waste that will destroy air, water and soil for generations. The marketers and branders from the energy industry have told us all this is green and clean and renewable. Now, who would believe that sort of garbage?

The only viable future is local. Living within local means. Using ...

2026-04-09T07:44:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…n9q7
_________________________

The only viable future is local. Living within local means. Using local resources and knowledge. Yeah, we definitely need that sort of vision in Ireland.

divVerent (npub1zts…ccks) DoomsdaysCW (npub1san…jgxu)

I have tried to get true total environmental costs and found it ...

2026-04-08T19:51:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…w0fk
_________________________

I have tried to get true total environmental costs and found it almost impossible. For example, what's the cost of wiping out entire Andes ecosystems for lithium? What's the cost to enslaved Uighur for building Chinese solar? Any time I hear "cheap" solar or batteries, I shudder.

DoomsdaysCW (npub1san…jgxu)

"Mumford’s work suggests that technologists’ use of ...

2026-03-20T13:56:42Z

"Mumford’s work suggests that technologists’ use of religious language—as with Schmidt’s “promised land”—reveals their faith in the “myth of the machine,” which he calls the “ultimate religion of our seemingly rational age.” At the core of the myth of the machine, he argued, is the idea that the development of technology is inherently connected to the improvement of the human condition."

https://www.compactmag.com/article/ai-and-the-myth-of-the-machine/

A.I. Was Supposed to “Revolutionize” Work. In Many Offices, ...

2026-01-28T10:43:25Z

A.I. Was Supposed to “Revolutionize” Work. In Many Offices, It’s Only Creating Chaos.

So he posted a third “article” on his own LinkedIn account in which the AI described how our company collaborated with the CDC on researching a certain disease and published a groundbreaking study. Then, according to the article, we apparently went into underserved communities and funded a bunch of clinics and immunizations.

None of this happened.

https://slate.com/life/2026/01/work-artificial-intelligence-ai-office-chaos.html

"An expert has warned that the large-scale smuggling of ...

2026-01-28T10:22:29Z

"An expert has warned that the large-scale smuggling of electronic waste (e-waste) into Malaysia is a public health emergency, with consequences that extend beyond environmental pollution."

When it can, the Global North dumps its e-waste in the Global South

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/01/1366057/toxic-trade-expert-raises-concern-over-public-health-risks-linked-e

E-waste contains harmful elements like: Lead Mercury Cadmium ...

2026-01-28T10:20:34Z

E-waste contains harmful elements like:

Lead
Mercury
Cadmium
Brominated flame retardants.

These materials can seep into soil and groundwater. This impacts:

Vegetation
Wildlife
Whole ecosystems.

https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/72690/20260127/growing-environmental-cost-electronic-waste-why-regulation-matters.htm

All over the world, politicians are being forced by their ...

2026-01-28T10:18:15Z

All over the world, politicians are being forced by their communities to address the evils of data centers

Resistance to data centers fuels flood of Georgia bills targeting the industry

Georgia legislators have proposed seven bills regulating data centers by eliminating tax breaks, prohibiting costs from being passed on to residential electricity customers, or temporarily barring their construction entirely.

https://capitol-beat.org/2026/01/resistance-to-data-centers-fuels-flood-of-georgia-bills-targeting-the-industry/

The unrelenting depraved greed of the AI tech bros. ...

2026-01-28T10:16:06Z

The unrelenting depraved greed of the AI tech bros.

"Artificial intelligence has become deeply entwined with all sorts of human enterprise. It pervades business, medicine, scientific research, and, increasingly, everyday life — OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said recently that the platform processes 2.5 billion queries each day, or 29,000 per second. All that computing, intangible though it seems, requires a lot of energy."

https://www.discovermagazine.com/ai-data-centers-come-with-a-hidden-environmental-cost-is-sustainability-possible-48590

Microsoft Pledged to Save Water. In the A.I. Era, It Expects ...

2026-01-28T10:14:09Z

Microsoft Pledged to Save Water. In the A.I. Era, It Expects Water Use to Soar.

Driven by the artificial intelligence frenzy, Microsoft is internally projecting that water use at its data centers will more than double by 2030 from 2020, including in places that face shortages.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/technology/microsoft-water-ai-data-centers.html

Big Tech is accelerating us on a path to environmental collapse. All for dodgy AI and greed. And all the AI grifters are along for the ride, for a few cheap bucks.

"It was also dawning on me that degrowth is difficult to ...

2026-01-28T10:11:43Z

"It was also dawning on me that degrowth is difficult to organize around precisely because of how all-encompassing a societal transformation it entails, with a multiverse and plurality of potential solutions. I’d been feeling unsupported by my degrowth community because I was gung-ho heading in one direction, but we all were doing degrowth in our own ways — and it didn’t have to be the same way!"

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2026-01-27/the-being-way-of-degrowth/

So sorry to see this has happened to you, Aral, and thanks for ...

2026-01-28T09:04:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…uqls
_________________________

So sorry to see this has happened to you, Aral, and thanks for the wonderful and kind work you do.

Does it seem like electronics don't last that long anymore? ...

2026-01-27T10:25:34Z

Does it seem like electronics don't last that long anymore?

"Does it seem like our electronics just aren't built to last as long as they used to? Kind of like they were made to self-destruct after a few years? Maybe that's why you got a new phone or laptop for Christmas. And now you're wondering what to do with all the old cellphones piled up in your junk drawer."

https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2026-01-27/electronics-dont-last-long-ewaste

“Data centers do not bring high-paying tech jobs to local ...

2026-01-26T19:46:00Z

“Data centers do not bring high-paying tech jobs to local communities.” A recent analysis from Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit tracking corporate overreach, found that in Virginia, the investment required to create a permanent data center job was nearly 100 times higher than what was required to create comparable jobs in other industries.

https://grist.org/energy/data-centers-are-facing-an-image-problem-the-tech-industry-is-spending-millions-to-rebrand-them/

Thank you so much, Aral, and I very much look forward to meeting ...

2026-01-26T10:31:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…7fhy
_________________________

Thank you so much, Aral, and I very much look forward to meeting you at the Dublin launch

Data centers are amazing. Everyone hates them. In these ...

2026-01-18T17:39:05Z

Data centers are amazing. Everyone hates them.

In these politically divisive times, there’s one thing we all agree on—we don’t want a giant data center in our backyard.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/14/1131253/data-centers-are-amazing-everyone-hates-them/

“With this proposed Ring of Fire, with these minerals being ...

2026-01-17T10:41:27Z

“With this proposed Ring of Fire, with these minerals being extracted, we are concerned how it affects us as Indigenous people; our rights are being violated,” Koostachin said during a Jan. 13 webinar hosted by Above Ground and MiningWatch Canada.

“So also our land, the environment, it's going to be destroyed. So anything where there's going to be destruction is going to be devastation within the Treaty 9 area where the proposed Ring of Fire is.”

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/far-north-ring-of-fire/were-protectors-indigenous-groups-call-for-mining-safeguards-11750950

"During past century, resource extraction has doubled every ...

2026-01-17T10:40:18Z

"During past century, resource extraction has doubled every 20 years or so. Indeed, humanity reached a grim milestone in 2021, when the global quantity of human-made mass — that is, the total weight of all things our species manufactured or constructed — surpassed the total weight of all living plant, animal, and microbial biomass on this planet. And worse yet, that mass of human-made stuff continues to grow, year by year, even as the natural world diminishes further."

https://scheerpost.com/2026/01/15/were-racing-down-the-highway-to-a-mad-max-world/

Utah needs to know where the next generation of data centers will ...

2026-01-17T10:36:25Z

Utah needs to know where the next generation of data centers will get their water and power

Utah’s leadership seems far too eager to impress AI creators so they will build here.

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2026/01/16/tribune-editorial-utah-needs-know/

Inside the invisible e-waste economy of Delhi’s Seelampur Toxic ...

2026-01-17T10:32:18Z

Inside the invisible e-waste economy of Delhi’s Seelampur

Toxic debris from wealthier nations is redirected to informal settlements such as Seelampur under the guise of second-hand goods. E-waste markets flourish because informal, marginalised spaces allow hazardous, illicit economies to operate beyond regulatory oversight.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/connecting-the-unconnected/inside-the-invisible-e-waste-economy-of-delhis-seelampur

"AI data centers on the East Coast are gobbling up so much ...

2026-01-17T10:26:25Z

"AI data centers on the East Coast are gobbling up so much juice that nonprofit grid operator PJM may be forced to enact rolling blackouts on its customers during both heat waves and exceptionally cold weather just to protect the grid’s integrity. These blackouts would impact a staggering 67 million people in 13 states, which will no doubt fan more anger from customers and politicians who are already deeply ticked off about the mass construction of AI data centers."

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-data-centers-electric-grid-meltdown

"Alarmed by what companies are building with artificial ...

2026-01-12T15:12:42Z

"Alarmed by what companies are building with artificial intelligence models, a handful of industry insiders are calling for those opposed to the current state of affairs to undertake a mass data poisoning effort to undermine the technology. Their initiative, dubbed Poison Fountain, asks website operators to add links to their websites that feed AI crawlers poisoned training data. It's been up and running for about a week."

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/11/industry_insiders_seek_to_poison/

URGENT: If you're Irish read this. Please spread the word ...

2026-01-10T12:04:08Z

URGENT: If you're Irish read this. Please spread the word

"The government now wants to make it super expensive (>€100,000) for ordinary people to go to court to protect the environment.
The Government is currently engaged in an extremely short consultation on proposed rules to cap legal costs when you go to court and hold the state to account for breaking environmental law.
If you think this is wrong, make your views known by emailing
aarhus@dcee.gov.ie by 15 January.

Communities are rising up against data centers Allen Park ...

2026-01-10T11:55:02Z

Communities are rising up against data centers

Allen Park planning commission postpones data center approval after resident concerns

https://www.wxyz.com/news/data-centers/allen-park-planning-commission-postpones-data-center-approval-after-resident-concerns

We’re suing to protect one of the most important conservation ...

2026-01-10T11:53:57Z

We’re suing to protect one of the most important conservation areas in the South from data centers

New data center development in ACE Basin could include one of the largest in the U.S.

https://www.selc.org/news/were-suing-to-protect-one-of-the-most-important-conservation-areas-in-the-south-from-data-centers/

So Big Tech has started undressing our children so as to make ...

2026-01-09T10:27:00Z

So Big Tech has started undressing our children so as to make even more profit off them.

Where are the Irish, UK and USA governments? An Irish Minister blames users. While the EU is complaining about Twitter on Twitter.

Big Tech own our governments. They own our politicians.

It's all about innovation and progress. Here we are having our children stripped of their rights and clothes to be sold for Big Tech profit. Here we are, with women facing an onslaught of Big Tech misogyny.

Toxic men.

"More than 3,000 people from U.S. territories have signed a ...

2026-01-06T10:20:03Z

"More than 3,000 people from U.S. territories have signed a petition opposing proposed deep seabed mining in waters near the Mariana Islands and American Samoa, warning of irreversible environmental damage and the exclusion of Indigenous communities from decision-making."

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/583276/petition-against-deep-sea-mining-near-mariana-trench-gaining-support

"A comprehensive study published in Nature Sustainability ...

2026-01-04T10:26:55Z

"A comprehensive study published in Nature Sustainability projects that AI server deployment across the United States could generate between 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030. To put this in perspective, that's the same as adding 5 to 10 million cars to U.S. roads."

https://vegoutmag.com/news/r-tns-ais-carbon-footprint-could-equal-10-million-cars-on-the-road-by-2030-study-warns/

But as more people hear about a data center coming to their ...

2026-01-04T10:25:12Z

But as more people hear about a data center coming to their community, once-sleepy municipal board meetings in farming towns and growing suburbs now feature crowded rooms of angry residents pressuring local officials to reject the requests.

“Would you want this built in your backyard?” Larry Shank asked supervisors last month in Pennsylvania’s East Vincent Township. “Because that’s where it’s literally going, is in my backyard.”

https://fortune.com/2026/01/03/data-centers-town-halls-angry-citizens-affordability-zoning-utility/

"Microsoft and Google keep the energy consumption of their ...

2026-01-02T11:09:55Z

"Microsoft and Google keep the energy consumption of their Dutch data centers secret, despite European reporting obligations. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO) received blank forms or no data at all. The Dutch newspaper NRC reports that the government has no legal means to request the actual figures."

https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/137595/how-much-energy-do-microsoft-and-google-consume-the-dutch-dont-know/

"Human-in-the-loop (HITL) safeguards that AI agents rely on ...

2025-12-20T11:29:37Z

"Human-in-the-loop (HITL) safeguards that AI agents rely on can be subverted, allowing attackers to weaponize them to run malicious code, new research from CheckMarx shows. HITL dialogs are a safety backstop (a final “are you sure?”) that the agents run before executing sensitive actions like running code, modifying files, or touching system resources."

https://www.csoonline.com/article/4108592/human-in-the-loop-isnt-enough-new-attack-turns-ai-safeguards-into-exploits.html

"Company-wide metrics from the environmental disclosure of ...

2025-12-19T10:12:12Z

"Company-wide metrics from the environmental disclosure of data center operators suggest that AI systems may have a carbon footprint equivalent to that of New York City in 2025, while their water footprint could be in the range of the global annual consumption of bottled water. Further disclosures from data center operators are urgently required to improve the accuracy of these estimates."

https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(25)00278-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666389925002788%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

"The wealthy world has been burning vast resources on a ...

2025-12-18T11:43:54Z

"The wealthy world has been burning vast resources on a zero-sum status competition — in which workers must perpetually increase their consumption just to “keep up with the Joneses.” By abandoning such spiritually corrosive consumerism — and embracing more egalitarian and communal ways of life — rich countries can downsize their economies and uplift their people simultaneously."

https://www.vox.com/politics/472466/america-money-inflation-happiness-vibecession-degrowth

Big Tech tells us it can't exist without forever chemical ...

2025-12-15T05:56:31Z

Big Tech tells us it can't exist without forever chemical (PFAS). A pity these chemicals are killing us.

"It is estimated that 836 kg/yr of volatile PFAS are emitted from US landfills in uncollected gas with a 95% confidence interval (2.5% to 97.5% of the distribution) of 15–5,590 kg/yr. This estimate is comparable to ∼600 kg of PFAS released annually into landfill leachate."

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c08763

It's astonishing, isn't it. And this is the multi-billion ...

2025-12-15T05:38:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…y4f5
_________________________

It's astonishing, isn't it. And this is the multi-billion dollar enterprise that is driving 80% of growth in world economies. What a total scam. There will be consequences.

A book on AI ethics full of fake citations You can't make ...

2025-12-15T05:32:51Z

A book on AI ethics full of fake citations

You can't make this stuff up.

Publisher under fire after ‘fake’ citations found in AI ethics guide

A book published by Springer Nature includes dozens of questionable citations, including references to journals that do not exist

https://www.thetimes.com/article/8f7d14db-dfd3-4776-8538-f5ce0a5707b2?shareToken=405c6237994f00a2e6ac41636e4ce159

"The research reveals that LLMs can be overconfident in their ...

2025-12-14T19:09:49Z

"The research reveals that LLMs can be overconfident in their own answers yet quickly lose that confidence and change their minds when presented with a counterargument, even if the counterargument is incorrect. Understanding the nuances of this behavior can have direct consequences on how you build LLM applications, especially conversational interfaces that span several turns."

https://venturebeat.com/ai/google-study-shows-llms-abandon-correct-answers-under-pressure-threatening-multi-turn-ai-systems

"The City of Lowell announced Friday that it will suspend its ...

2025-12-14T10:30:40Z

"The City of Lowell announced Friday that it will suspend its participation in a proposed data center. According to a post on the city's Facebook page, Lowell will resume engagements in the project if and when the prospective tenant provides specific details about their water and wastewater asks."

https://wwmt.com/news/local/lowell-halts-participation-data-center-project-over-lack-water-wastewater-details-township-alden-nash-avenue-franklin-lowell-llc

"Despite being valued at billions of dollars, data center ...

2025-12-13T11:30:31Z

"Despite being valued at billions of dollars, data center companies like Switch are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies. Annually, Nevada spends $139 million in public subsidies for data centers. That means that taxpayers like us foot the bill twice: first, we give data center companies a massive tax break to build in Nevada. Then, we pay for the energy upgrades and ongoing energy use they require through our increased utility bills."
https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/12/12/dirty-data-centers-will-drive-up-our-utility-bills/

Data Center Growth Draining Global Water Supplies A new report ...

2025-12-13T11:28:00Z

Data Center Growth Draining Global Water Supplies

A new report says the race to build data centers amid booming AI demand is a serious threat to the world’s water supply.

We have a global water crisis. Big Tech is accelerating it. Big Tech greed will destroy life on earth. It has no bottom.

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/infrastructure/data-center-growth-draining-global-water-supplies

Arizona city rejects data center after AI lobbying push Former ...

2025-12-13T11:26:32Z

Arizona city rejects data center after AI lobbying push

Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's intervention in a local rezoning effort has sparked a fight over local control.

“If you can’t show me what’s in it for Chandler, then we are not having a conversation,” Ellis said before voting against the project.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/12/arizona-city-rejects-data-center-after-ai-lobbying-push-00688543

Gas Networks Ireland recently announced plans to build a ...

2025-12-10T05:27:45Z

Gas Networks Ireland recently announced plans to build a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal near Kildysart Co. Clare and gave the local community just 24 hours notice of a public meeting. As Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, the decision to build the terminal falls under Darragh O Brien's remit and it is important to put public pressure on him and to highlight the negative implications of the proposal.

Please sign and share:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TzuZIaVH1Gu4T5GqomXNgEo9u6Jf_Ls0Lfddw6Ekhu8/edit?usp=sharing

"Fifty years ago, following the discovery of vast mineral ...

2025-12-06T11:18:36Z

"Fifty years ago, following the discovery of vast mineral deposits, Leaf Rapids was designed and built in a span of four years and heralded as the town of the future. Today, it's hanging by a thread."
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/04/bright-past-bleak-future

Mining always leaves devastation in its wake. It comes, it extracts and what it leaves is toxic waste, destroyed Nature and lost people. We will soon be mining a Mount Everest of materials every year to feed our devouring civilization. Collapse is coming.

How the rise of massive datacentres strains Australia’s ...

2025-12-05T13:47:18Z

How the rise of massive datacentres strains Australia’s drinking water supply

"Water demand to service datacentres in Sydney is forecast to be larger than volume of Canberra’s total drinking water within the next decade. In Melbourne the Victorian government has announced a “$5.5m investment to become Australia’s datacentre capital”, but the hyperscale datacentre applications already exceed the water demands of nearly all of state’s top 30 business customers combined."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/04/thirsty-work-how-the-rise-of-massive-datacentres-strains-australias-drinking-water-supply

The energy needs of 30 data centers that are planned or under ...

2025-12-03T13:41:00Z

The energy needs of 30 data centers that are planned or under construction across the Carolinas, according to one industry report, would more than double the current energy needs in the Carolinas.

Projected demand on the power grid creates a slew of unknowns that North Carolina utility regulators have only recently begun to grapple with publicly.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article312306586.html#storylink=cpy

One 10-second AI video on OpenAI’s Sora app takes about 1 ...

2025-12-02T18:11:29Z

One 10-second AI video on OpenAI’s Sora app takes about 1 kilowatt hour of energy – about 10 per cent of the daily energy used by an average German household.

Netflix 1 hour’s streaming takes around 18 watt hours.

One 10 sec Sora Video takes the same as watching 5 and a half of hours of Netflix.

Alastair Alexander

https://substack.com/@reclaimedsystems/note/c-183329975

"The irony was hard to miss: the same month our union ...

2025-12-02T13:45:16Z

"The irony was hard to miss: the same month our union received layoff threats, OpenAI’s education evangelists set up shop in the university library to recruit faculty into the gospel of automated learning. The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free."

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-destroying-the-university-and-learning-itself

"AI's rapid growth is depleting local water reserves ...

2025-11-26T13:33:37Z

"AI's rapid growth is depleting local water reserves around the world, from drought-stricken Chile to South Africa. Its physical footprint reflects a new form of colonial extraction; instead of silver and soy, now it is the cooling water that keeps the digital economy running."

"These community struggles highlight a familiar pattern in which corporations and governments present data centres as engines of modernisation while downplaying their environmental costs."
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/3144490/ais-growth-is-depleting-water-reserves.

"So, when we arrived here at COP30, we were abandoned. We ...

2025-11-25T10:19:08Z

"So, when we arrived here at COP30, we were abandoned. We didn’t have access to water. We had a hard time finding meals. It was very difficult for our people, who had traveled for so long to get here. And the people wanted to be heard. We came in a large delegation, and we wanted to speak, and we wanted to be heard. But we were blocked."

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/24/full_interview_indigenous_amazon_defender_alessandra

"Degrowth offers a counter-narrative. By deliberately ...

2025-11-24T09:49:48Z

"Degrowth offers a counter-narrative. By deliberately reducing consumption, scaling back wasteful production, and prioritizing sufficiency over excess, societies can redistribute resources more fairly. Degrowth is not about poverty or stagnation; it is about shifting priorities. Luxury consumption, speculative finance, and high-emission production are curtailed, while public services, social welfare, and environmental protection are expanded."

https://dailyasianage.com/news/344847/the-equality-hidden-in-degrowth

Google Strives To Keep Data Center Water Use Secret After Judge ...

2025-11-19T10:28:32Z

Google Strives To Keep Data Center Water Use Secret After Judge Orders Records Released

A Roanoke judge has ordered the Western Virginia Water Authority to release information related to a potential Google data center.

https://www.roanokerambler.com/google-strives-keep-data-center-botetourt-county-water-use-secret-judge-orders-records-released/

All over the world, Google tries to keep secret its water use

Serious $1 Trillion Crypto Price Crash Warning Sparks Panic As ...

2025-11-18T13:42:20Z

Serious $1 Trillion Crypto Price Crash Warning Sparks Panic As Bitcoin Drop Suddenly Accelerates

"The bitcoin price has fallen almost 30% from its peak last month, plunging bitcoin into bear market territory and wiping $1 trillion from the combined $3.2 trillion crypto market, with traders panicking over a bitcoin crash nightmare scenario that could be suddenly coming true."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/11/18/serious-1-trillion-crypto-crash-warning-sparks-panic-as-bitcoin-drop-suddenly-accelerates/

Informal recycling can involve washing the e-waste—often using ...

2025-11-16T17:13:54Z

Informal recycling can involve washing the e-waste—often using bare hands—in acids such as “nitrates, sulfates, hydrogen fluoride, etc., to create slurry. Gold is extracted by mixing sodium cyanide to run off gold cyanide. Lots of toxic wastewater results from this process. The remaining slurry is dried and buried or burned. It’s very toxic and problematic to handle. Burying causes terrible leaching 10 or 20 years later, poisons the land and makes large areas unfarmable.
https://gerrymcgovern.com/nature-will-recycle-us/

Data centers are driving up electricity bills "The reasons ...

2025-11-16T10:21:20Z

Data centers are driving up electricity bills

"The reasons for price increases are often complex and vary by region. But in at least three states with high concentrations of data centers, electric bills climbed much faster than the national average during that period. Prices, for example, surged by 13% in Virginia, 16% in Illinois and 12% in Ohio."

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/data-centers-are-concentrated-in-these-states-heres-whats-happening-to-electricity-prices-.html

"The plans formally surfaced in July. Four months later, they ...

2025-11-15T15:28:03Z

"The plans formally surfaced in July. Four months later, they have the green light, a deal with Michigan’s largest utility to draw more power than a million homes and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer heralding them as the largest one-time investment in state history. The project? A sprawling warehouse filled with servers to fuel Big Tech’s rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence."

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2025/11/as-ai-arms-race-data-centers-hit-michigan-rural-farm-town-feels-left-in-the-dust.html

“We are just making these reports pretty much in the dark — ...

2025-11-15T15:04:41Z

“We are just making these reports pretty much in the dark — since there’s almost zero information,” said Shaolei Ren, an AI researcher at UC Riverside and co-author of the report. “We have extremely little information about data centers in California.”

https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/11/data-center-environmental-report/

Big Tech wants to know absolutely everything about us. It works incredibly hard so that we know as little as possible about them

"The availability of freshwater is already a concern ...

2025-11-14T10:21:38Z

"The availability of freshwater is already a concern globally. By 2030, demand for freshwater will outstrip supply by 40% — which will mean those reliant on water will become increasingly dependent on the extraction of non-renewable or unreliable water sources. In essence, the data centers needed to power the AI revolution are already drinking from a drying tap. Some tech accelerationists argue that AI isn’t the cause of this crisis."

https://www.techpolicy.press/artificial-intelligence-water-consumption-and-the-trillionradish-conundrum-/

"The water crisis is really a crisis of groundwater. 99% of ...

2025-11-14T05:48:01Z

"The water crisis is really a crisis of groundwater. 99% of freshwater is groundwater, and groundwater supplies 40% of our food, and 70% of irrigation, but many major aquifers are already overdrawn. The Ogallala, which grows a sixth of the world’s grain, could be largely unusable within decades."

https://climatewaterproject.substack.com/p/the-big-groundwater-crisis-food-water

The Growth Death Cult will kill us all, and Big Tech want more and more water. All for super greedy AI.

Time to resist!

ChatGPT Now Linked to Way More Deaths Than the Caffeinated ...

2025-11-13T14:28:42Z

ChatGPT Now Linked to Way More Deaths Than the Caffeinated Lemonade That Panera Pulled Off the Market in Disgrace

"As of last week, ChatGPT maker OpenAI is facing a total of eight distinct lawsuits alleging that extensive use of its flagship chatbot inflicted emotional and psychological harm to users, resulting in mental breakdowns, financial instability, alienation from loved ones, and — in five cases — death by suicide."

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/chatgpt-deaths-panera-lemonade

You're right. The whole planned obsolescence system is ...

2025-11-13T13:27:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…hn02
_________________________

You're right. The whole planned obsolescence system is rotten. Every year, digital design, from semiconductors up, becomes less repairable and recyclable.