Opinion: The data-center panic is overblown
Data centers are allegedly an unmitigated disaster: They guzzle water, strain electric grids, and raise prices, all while offering almost nothing in return. Little wonder that according to a recent Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans oppose the construction of new AI data centers in their area. Politicians of both parties are proposing moratoriums on new builds, and local officials who have approved construction in the past are losing reelection because of it. … Critics argue that AI wastes billions of liters of water every year and that this is an “environmental justice crisis.” … Data centers certainly do use water. They are basically warehouses of tightly packed, high-powered computers, and when computers run, they get hot. Most data centers—though not all—use water for cooling. But many of them use a “closed loop,” which doesn’t actually waste much, because the water is recycled repeatedly for the same purpose.
–Written by Atlantic columnist Elias Wachtel.Other data center water use news:
