Discussion

• @oliviasolon Olivia Solon on x

  NEW: Data centers bring billion dollar developments to cash-strapped cities, but they guzzle water and electricity while creating relatively few jobs. Some communities in drought-prone states are starting to question their environmental cost https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @alex On Vacation Alex on x

  1. Always read Olivia she's amazing 2. Wtffff are we doing building water-intensive data centers in the fucking desert this is lunacy https://twitter.com/...

• @nycdsatechwg @nycdsatechwg on x

  The tech industry does its best to present a seamless experience for its customers. It's easy to forget that slick digital facade is only made possible via massive, physical computing infrastructure. We must always be cognizant of the real world presence and impacts of tech. http…

• @mattk Matt on x

  Why can't this water be passively cooled and re-used? I'm sure there is a good explanation, but it seems this could be solvable. https://twitter.com/...

• @deborahblum Deborah Blum on x

  Do water-intensive data centers need to be built in the drought-prone western US? A data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day. https://www.nbcnews.com/... via @nbcnews

• @iainthomson Iain Thomson on x

  Never understood why states and cities try to woo data centers with tax breaks. Post construction there are very few jobs to be had and a lot of fixed costs. https://twitter.com/...

• @hypervisible Hypervisible Dot Pdf on x

  “Since water is cheaper than electricity, data centers tend to opt for the more water-intensive approach.” 😵 https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @oliviasolon Olivia Solon on x

  “The typical data center uses about 3-5 million gallons of water per day — the same amount of water as a city of 30,000-50,000 people.” Venkatesh Uddameri, professor and director of the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @oliviasolon Olivia Solon on x

  “This has been the driest 12 months in 126 years. We are on red alert, and I think data centers are an irresponsible use of our water” - said Jenn Duff, Vice Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, which has welcomed 8-9 large data centers https://www.nbcnews.com/...

• @pinboard @pinboard on x

  This is the industrial version of that story, but it's always the same. Don't build big new cities in the desert, don't grow cotton in the desert, don't put massively water-intensive data centers in the desert. There's a pattern here if you can catch on! https://www.nbcnews.com/.…

• @william_fitz William Fitzgerald on x

  this is a story tech corporations don't want told. When I worked at Google I commissioned reports, like this one, that focus on how great data centers are for the local economy. https://www.copenhageneconomics.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...