Posted on 06/16/2026 5:20:58 PM PDT by Libloather
Data centers have become the chic new enemy among activists.
Critics claim the centers are using inordinate amounts of electricity and water to power artificial intelligence, inspiring protesters to take to the streets and Democratic lawmakers to head to Albany to stymie their development.
However, some experts say the anti-data center push is more of a moral panic than an empirical one, often based on speculative and sometimes bunk projections.
It seems that data centers are the boogeyman onto which larger fears about the impact of AI are being projected.
“The estimates of future data-center development may be overestimated by a factor of three to five,” Jonathan Koomey, an energy researcher who has been studying data-center electricity usage for decades, told The Post. “It is not as simple as saying, ‘We don’t want data centers to use water.’ You have to think about the trade-offs.”
Concerns about data centers have largely centered around the idea that they are massive guzzlers of energy and water, which (alongside aircon) is used to cool banks of servers and electical equipment.
Worries about water consumption have been popularized via an oft-repeated statistic about the water consumption of a Chilean data center from journalist Karen Hao’s book, “Empire of AI.” The only problem: Hao had accidentally exaggerated the water usage by a factor of 1,000.
According to the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, just 0.2% of New York state’s water and 3.5% of the state’s electricity were used by data centers in 2025.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
More proof that Water Treatment Plants and AI Centers should be merged.
I do understand your pain. I know several families here in Wisconsin that the women work and the men stay home to tend the farm. They could not afford to farm anymore. Fuel, fertilizer, feed, insurance, taxes etc. Industrial farms selling products at bare minimum. It is a sad ending when the property has been in the families for over a hundred years. Unfortunately, they have been left with no other choice then to sell.
Build data centers in space. Radiate to absolute zero.
Why are all AI’s proper English speaking white guys ?
We need some Hip/Hop/Rap AI’s. Some AI Lewzianna Swamp Gator Chasers. Some Californ-eye-a Blond Haired Homeless Surfer Boy AI’s. A Melania Trump voiced AI that speaks multiple languages. Are AI’s into dirty phone sex ?
I suspect you can ask for that and whatever AI you are talking to will accomodate you.
AI language translation is popular with travelers.
To keep down costs. They don’t need prime luxury real estate.
They’re going to be generating their own power, just as Navy subs do. They may even be able to generate emergency power for the regions around them if needed.
BS. They’re trying to put an AI data center right next to the Nashville Zoo. It’s not cheap real estate by any stretch.
And creating deep heat islands an dense single point emissions. Let’s put one in your backyard without compensation of any kind.
I understand what you are saying, and I’m not trying to discount it, but the reality is our financial system, and economy are shifting. We are in an Arms race, but most people don’t understand it. For better or for worse we are in it, and we better be in it to win it. Most people do not understand the impact AI is having across our Government, both Public Sector and DoW, it is making massive improvements, at a scale that has never been seen before. Currency creation could very well come down to the production of these systems over time. Not all Data Centers are AI focussed, I like to use the coined phrase AI Factory, and Data Center because their purposes are different.
Some interesting fun stats - Water Use/Year
Every Year Golf courses burn through - ~550 Billion gallons of water... that water is quite literally pushing pesticides, herbicides, and various fertilizers right into the municipal water table.
Every year concrete production burns through - ~55 Billion gallons of water
Power Generation Coal/Nuclear - 47.5-48.5 TRILLION gallons of water
Agriculture - ~43 TRILLION gallons - I worked a farm growing up with 53 irrigation circles in Eastern WA, with over the top sprinklers about 30% evaporates - I can tell you few farmers invest in using less water because it costs for the retrofit.
Aluminum - About 36 Billion gallons of water
Data Centers.... - About 30-40 Billion (Less than the evaporation of agriculture)
I understand that things can be personal for folks, and I can understand folks pulling on a fixed well and if a high demand comes in and does a significant pull there is impact. But lots of industries use lots of water. And scare tactics trying to say it’s some unbelievable number is disingenuous and much of it is tactics trying to cause the BS that is happening right now.
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