Thank you Skepticat, I appreciate your comment. I was inspired in part by the great Erin Brockovich, who is here on Substack and looking into (and exposing) this exact topic. Check out her work at https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/
Thank you for the link, which I was looking for. She is a true heroine, but it's a bit too bad that there still are so many hideous things for her to pursue. We shall do whatever we can to help.
And there are people that actually believe that embracing all of this technology is a good thing. They haven’t felt the negative effects of it yet! Everything in moderation is still a good rule of thumb!
So I hear the ocean levels are rising… how about locating these centers where they might help in that area and contribute to alleviating that problem. And perhaps use alternative power as back up. Seems 19th century to deliver 21st century technology by take over and over use of inland resources .
Michelle, the more I dig into this topic and the more I learn, the more convinced I am that nobody in charge knows what they're doing. There is no big strategic plan. Nothing that makes common sense is being applied here. We have exactly the wrong people with exactly the wrong ideas leading us in the technology sector and in politics right now. I think it's up to all of us to band together and change it.
Reminds me of all the mooks at places like Lehman Bros (where I worked a yr in the 90s), who told the rest of us to butt out bc they *knew* derivatives, you see. How could *we* possibly get their genius? Worked out great for us.
Thank you for the beautiful comment TLB. I really appreciate it. I'm trying to end every article in this series with a call to action and hope in some form or another. Sometimes it's really hard to do.
Thanks for a great story and ending it with a great lesson in these times. If we'll all quit with the red vs blue, coastal vs fly-over, urban vs rural hate fight and focus on who is really driving the divide we have a chance of stopping seriously bad from happening. It's amazing to me that the Amazon data center at The Dalles in Oregon has been going for a decade and almost no one noticed until they needed more water. They had the Columbia River water, BPA power and powerlines and it just blended in. Until they wanted more. Keep up your good reporting. Cheers
In no rational mind does consumption of so much energy and resources in order to put people out of jobs make any sense. That is why they try to keep it a secret.
We need to stop allowing data centers to be built until they are self sufficient with either solar or wind to cool them instead of water. Why are we allowing this?
THANK YOU for this immeasurably important article. More people need to be aware of the real cost of the AI bulldozer.
Thank you Skepticat, I appreciate your comment. I was inspired in part by the great Erin Brockovich, who is here on Substack and looking into (and exposing) this exact topic. Check out her work at https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/
Thank you for the link, which I was looking for. She is a true heroine, but it's a bit too bad that there still are so many hideous things for her to pursue. We shall do whatever we can to help.
And there are people that actually believe that embracing all of this technology is a good thing. They haven’t felt the negative effects of it yet! Everything in moderation is still a good rule of thumb!
I agree, Christine. Moderation in all things especially with new technology like this that we don't completely understand.
So I hear the ocean levels are rising… how about locating these centers where they might help in that area and contribute to alleviating that problem. And perhaps use alternative power as back up. Seems 19th century to deliver 21st century technology by take over and over use of inland resources .
Michelle, the more I dig into this topic and the more I learn, the more convinced I am that nobody in charge knows what they're doing. There is no big strategic plan. Nothing that makes common sense is being applied here. We have exactly the wrong people with exactly the wrong ideas leading us in the technology sector and in politics right now. I think it's up to all of us to band together and change it.
Reminds me of all the mooks at places like Lehman Bros (where I worked a yr in the 90s), who told the rest of us to butt out bc they *knew* derivatives, you see. How could *we* possibly get their genius? Worked out great for us.
thank you for another beautiful essay Lawrence, and ending it with some hope because sometimes i don't feel the hope
Thank you for the beautiful comment TLB. I really appreciate it. I'm trying to end every article in this series with a call to action and hope in some form or another. Sometimes it's really hard to do.
Thanks for a great story and ending it with a great lesson in these times. If we'll all quit with the red vs blue, coastal vs fly-over, urban vs rural hate fight and focus on who is really driving the divide we have a chance of stopping seriously bad from happening. It's amazing to me that the Amazon data center at The Dalles in Oregon has been going for a decade and almost no one noticed until they needed more water. They had the Columbia River water, BPA power and powerlines and it just blended in. Until they wanted more. Keep up your good reporting. Cheers
I live not too far in the neighboring dekalb county and I’ve been wanting to drive by to see the area and see if that humming sound can be heard
I have read that China is putting in their data centers in the ocean. Certainly seems smart to me.
In no rational mind does consumption of so much energy and resources in order to put people out of jobs make any sense. That is why they try to keep it a secret.
Brilliant piece Lawrence, and terrifying! Thank you.
We need to stop allowing data centers to be built until they are self sufficient with either solar or wind to cool them instead of water. Why are we allowing this?