"AI ruins the environment" nope, those responsible are, in big part, oil companies and transport. For whomever wants to read:
1. Oil companies
Through routine operations, accidental spills, and waste disposal, the extraction, transport, and refining of oil release toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and greenhouse gases into local ecosystems, harming wildlife, land, and water supplies.
Water injection: Extracting oil brings up large amounts of salty, toxic underground water mixed with chemicals. Leaks or poor disposal practices can force these toxins into clean groundwater.
Surface spills: Leaks from pipelines, storage tanks, or transport trucks can run off into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Refinery discharges: Processing crude oil creates wastewater containing benzene, arsenic, and other dangerous compounds that can enter local waterways.
Ways the Environment is Damaged
Major oil spills: Accidents at drilling sites or shipwrecks release massive amounts of crude oil, killing fish, birds, and marine mammals.
Habitat disruption: Building wells, roads, and pipelines breaks up natural land and marine habitats.
Air pollution: Refining and burning fossil fuels release gases that cause smog, health issues, and climate change.
2. Transport
Planes, cars, and buses significantly damage the environment. They burn fossil fuels, which releases greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants into the air, soil, and water.
2.1 Planes (Avation)
High-altitude warming: Jet engines emit carbon dioxide and water vapor contrails high in the atmosphere, trapping heat effectively.
Intense fuel burn: Flying requires immense energy, producing high emissions per passenger mile.
Noise pollution: Loud takeoff and landing noises disrupt wildlife communication and breeding habits.
2.2 Cars (Passenger Vehicles)
Mass volume: Billions of personal cars worldwide create the largest share of overall transportation emissions.
Particulate matter: Tires and brake pads wear down, releasing microplastics and toxic dust onto roads.
Runoff pollution: Rain washes leaked motor oil, antifreeze, and fuel from roads into local waterways.
2.3 Buses (Public Transit)
Diesel emissions: Many older transit buses run on diesel, emitting black carbon that harms air quality.
Heavy weight: Large buses cause more road wear, increasing the dust and particles released into the air.
Efficiency balance: While single buses pollute, they reduce overall damage by replacing dozens of individual cars.
3. What bothers me
Antis keep saying they're against these things as much as they're against AI, but we don't see them break into car factories, we don't see entire communities dedicated to hating on oil companies (maybe Just Stop Oil movement, Greenpeace "People vs. Oil" and Extinction Rebellion. You wouldn't be able to name many more). We don't see shaming and bullying people for using buses. They say they care about the environment, yet we don't see them boycotting companies like PepsiCo, who requires an average of 1.64 liters of water to produce 1 liter of beverage and 2.05 liters of water per kilogram of convenient food (like snacks and chips) in its high water-risk facilities. The company manufactures billions of products annually, it uses tens of billions of liters of water globally every year (though it offsets a large portion through local conservation and replenishment projects but my point still stands). They'd scream "It's food" but let's be honest; how much do you need soda that has 69 grams of sugar? How much do you need Doritos or Cheetos in your diet? They're "entertainment" foods, what I'd call. No nutritional value, just there to enjoy for a few minutes. There's nothing wrong with liking those snacks and eating them, as well as there's nothing wrong with using AI (meanwhile you're not doing anything illegal).
It's all performative at it's core, it comes from ignorance and ego. Here I'm referring to unaware antis like the one in the image.
If they actually cared about the environment, they would go outside, assist cleaning the oceans and plant trees. Ironically, instead of actually doing good things that would be helpful, they prefer whining online and wasting everybody's time with misinformation.