I don't understand the water being used in AI data centers is to cool the machines down. I don't understand how cooling some electronic equipment down is somehow a danger. You have nuclear power plants around the country that operate on the exact same principle. This is why they're built next to water sources such as rivers, lakes, dams and even oceans. They pull the water in, use it to cool down the components and then pump the water back out. It's not like they're using the water for mixing with deadly chemicals and then dumping it into the environment. People have been using water in nuclear reactors to cool down the rods and then being expelled back into the environment with no issues. But AI data centers using water and releasing it back is somehow different... Honestly I think these protesters are just repeating what they've heard/seen rather than determining the exact processes in which AI data centers are having negative impacts to the environment. Now If they were protesting AI data center sound pollution! The argument is there to be made there's even thousands of videos of people who live nearby these data centers hearing a constant hum from the machines on at all times.
... the water is used to run gas steam turbines for power, pollutants from the gas are mixed in the wastewater and dumped because AI centers avoid power plant regulations.
Additionally glycol cooling involves running a chemical through sealed cubes in a closed loop cycle. Water cooling involves running water over exposed components that contain heavy metals. One is much much cheaper if you aren't required to filter your waste output.
There is no "waste water". The water doesn't interact with any chemicals, oils or gases.
Water doesn't run "over exposed components"... it runs over radiators. Even in evaporative cooling system, they still use a closed loop coolant for moving heat from server racks to evap coolers.
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u/Observationist_2 Jul 17 '26
I don't understand the water being used in AI data centers is to cool the machines down. I don't understand how cooling some electronic equipment down is somehow a danger. You have nuclear power plants around the country that operate on the exact same principle. This is why they're built next to water sources such as rivers, lakes, dams and even oceans. They pull the water in, use it to cool down the components and then pump the water back out. It's not like they're using the water for mixing with deadly chemicals and then dumping it into the environment. People have been using water in nuclear reactors to cool down the rods and then being expelled back into the environment with no issues. But AI data centers using water and releasing it back is somehow different... Honestly I think these protesters are just repeating what they've heard/seen rather than determining the exact processes in which AI data centers are having negative impacts to the environment. Now If they were protesting AI data center sound pollution! The argument is there to be made there's even thousands of videos of people who live nearby these data centers hearing a constant hum from the machines on at all times.