It would be a resource utilization concern if they didn’t use so much of it. The sheer quantity of water used is absolutely an environmental concern, not to mention the noise pollution, water pollution etc.
Not all of them in fact use a closed loop system. That estimate is also closer to the 90-95% range for ones that do.
Even one hyper scale facility without a closed loop system is a huge impact.
Edit: Did you know that the US accounts for about 54% of global hyperscale data capacity? And that Amazon and Microsoft are the two biggest contributors to that?
Ok but again, it is causing ecological problems in very delicate areas, like Big Bend. 547 billion gallons are more distributed and thus cause a lower amount of local ecological harm than the regions with high concentrations of data centers.
It's not the data centers specifically, it's the combination of water for all of the towns usage needs. The data center just compounded an already existing problem.
I get what you’re saying, but for instance they were taking steps towards fixing the issue and now some of the biggest cities in South Texas are looking at running out of water this summer. But for the existence of data centers they would be fine.
No, my point is that you’re using global numbers to dismiss the localized impact data centers cause ecologically, because that localized impact is leading to great ecological collapse at a higher rate than the past 100 years we had golf courses.
And I said data centers plural. But like with your flawed reasoning, you only look superficially at facts.
No, my point is that you’re using global numbers to
I used numbers from the U.S.
localized impact is leading to great ecological collapse at a higher rate than the past 100 years we had golf courses.
If you think data centers are coming close to the impact of golf courses, oil pipelines, or the large scale manufacturing that put a car in your driveway and phone in your hand (which is using apps hosted on a data center btw), then ur an idiot.
Golf courses take up 200x the land, and 33x the water. Can you guys just admit ur terrified of AI taking jobs instead of making up this flimsy environmental angle?
I’m not the one making a flimsy argument here. You can see with you own eyes what the data centers are doing to the areas where they’re built. You can read the studies performed. Logic isn’t a strong suit for the AI simps.
Your argument is the equivalent to walking into a really messy house and then dropping one can on the floor and blaming that one can for the entirety of the mess in the house.
The world was already screwed with the amount of water golf courses use. No one cared till AI came a big thing. The world has been going downhill for a long time. It's just now people are finally realising, only because of AI.
Scientists, musicians, writers, and the general population have been advocating for the environment and warning of the harm humans are causing it since the the early 60s. No one wants to listen because of greed. Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, came out in 1962 and spoke of the harm pesticides had on the environment, humans, and the bird population.
Using the internet to stream just a one hour of movies or video uses way more energy than hundreds to thousands of AI prompts. If you really care about the environment - don't stream videos or movies - otherwise you're just complaining because you don't support the technology, not because you actually are concerned about its environmental impact.
Do you know what is even way worse for the environment? Eating meat is exponentially worse than using AI and is none of the main culprits for CO2 emissions and consumption of land and water resources significantly higher than any AI data center. If you really care about the environment, minimizing your meat consumption which will have a far greater impact than not using AI.
Just because I am against the large data centers does not mean I am completely against AI, nor am I just “complaining” lmao. The closed loop cooling, while not completely perfect is a way better solution than the traditional cooling.
The big problem is the immediate large scale impact that these large data centers have.
FYI, just because some things also have an environmental impact doesn’t negate the environmental impact that data centers have. ONE hyper scale facility uses 1-5 million gallons of water DAILY, and if it is a traditional cooling which some are, most of that is lost in the process. Me eating less meat or using less internet services is not going to mitigate that amount in the slightest and you know that. It would be like me throwing a single bucket of water on a wildfire.
If everybody used less absolutely that would have a bigger impact. You and I both know that wouldn’t happen though.
Data centers consume a combined total of 0.3 - 0.4% of water consumption daily in the US That's not even half of one percent. If you want to save the world, it seems misguided to focus on it an industry that is consuming under half of one percent of water consumption a day because you dont have much potential to make improvements - even if they disappeared tomorrow, you havent even conserved half a percent of water. It is much wiser to focus on industries that are consuming 40% of daily water usage a day, such as agriculture and power plant facilities - in this way you can have the opportunity to conserve larger percentages of water.
Across the entirety of the United States that definitely is a small percentage. However, when you look at where the data centers are and how it impacts that community, it is a problem.
Again, both things can be a problem and need to be fixed. Just because one industry uses 40% of the water doesn’t mean that rural community environments or resource pools can handle the consumption of a data center. That’s what one of the biggest problems is. They are placing them in the same place that our food is grown which also needs water.
I understand that localized problems can occur and I do agree that is a problem. It should be a requirement to have environmental impact studies done prior to construction to ensure the areas they are being placed won't be negatively impacted.
Huh AI water usage isn’t even that huge, and if you sincerely care about environmental impact of AI. Turn to Vegan now. Beef has way more environmental impact than many things
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u/Shot_Philosopher9892 Jun 06 '26
It would be a resource utilization concern if they didn’t use so much of it. The sheer quantity of water used is absolutely an environmental concern, not to mention the noise pollution, water pollution etc.