I watch and read a lot about financials and economics and it's becoming very clear that all of these data centers are headed for a financial fall soon. AI is all speculative and when the investors finally realize they've been had and pull the plug, the AI industry in the U.S. is going to go the same way that the real estate bubble went back in 2008.
Then we may be seeing a bunch of data centers close down due to lack of money. Then what? Will anyone go in there and try to clean up the mess? Probably not. Then all of that tech hardware will rot and leak more pollutants into the local soils around the country while the owners claim bankruptcy.
Do we think the Trump government will step in to assist with the cleanup? These are the same people that just choked off the EPA. I don't see anything good coming from any of this in any way.
Thank you for this important news Emily, and for all your work ! After sharing with an epigenetiscist, he was surprised that the nitrate levels stated (50 to 70 ppm) would be associated with miscarriage, and indeed on the link behind that comment, the authors of the scientific study say "We conclude that the current literature does not provide sufficient evidence of a causal relationship between exposure to nitrates in drinking water and adverse reproductive effects". I think the threshold to declare a causal link is pretty high, so I'm sure this doesn't negate any anecdotal evidence of effects, but in the interest of being able to tell this person that investigative journalists don't spread misinformation, I thought I would point it out !!
Gotta say, reading the underlying report left me with the feeling this was 95% an "industrial agriculture" problem and 5% a "data center" problem. Funky water system up there. Seems like they were adding CAFOs before they added data centers. Folks are getting sick from nitrates, just like they've been getting sick from nitrates from fertilizers and animal waste in farm country for decades. Similar nitrate levels are found in many wells in the ag areas Midwest, TX, CA w/o any help from data centers. Of course the locals like to blame the big new outsider.
One of my big gripes w/data centers in the NW is that they moved in to get "24/7 clean power" from existing hydro, not by creating much new clean power. They bid up the elec price, and drove out aluminum smelters. And now most aluminum comes from some smelter elsewhere which may or may not be powered "cleanly." And now all of sudden aluminum is a "critical mineral" and OMG, look your solar panels use materials imported OMG from some "unfair" regime like Canada OMG.
This isnt a "5% data center problem". Amazon is worth trillions at this point. Even the suggestion of amplifying the pollution problem could have been met with more rigorous testing. I'm pretty sure the concentrated nitrates they produced led to all those people's problems. It certainly didn't help their health.
That was an excellent piece of journalism that read like a modern day Chinatown. I dontated to that outfit after reading. Wonder if Washington Post would have ever ran something like that 🤔
I'm sure the allusion to Flint is not made in hyperbole. What's so awful about this is Amazon must know what they're doing. They're once again making a choice that prioritizes profit over human lives and the planet's future.
This reminds me of the practice of “landspreading” used by the fracking industry to keep dirt clouds down on access roads to drill sites. They spray “process water,” over dry roads — which is the water used in fracking. It’s laden with proprietary chemicals they’ve pumped back up their well bores — known endocrine disruptors, neurological toxins, etc. I can’t decide if it’s pure ignorance of the laws of thermodynamics or blatant irresponsibility. Either way, it’s poisoning rural areas.
I watch and read a lot about financials and economics and it's becoming very clear that all of these data centers are headed for a financial fall soon. AI is all speculative and when the investors finally realize they've been had and pull the plug, the AI industry in the U.S. is going to go the same way that the real estate bubble went back in 2008.
Then we may be seeing a bunch of data centers close down due to lack of money. Then what? Will anyone go in there and try to clean up the mess? Probably not. Then all of that tech hardware will rot and leak more pollutants into the local soils around the country while the owners claim bankruptcy.
Do we think the Trump government will step in to assist with the cleanup? These are the same people that just choked off the EPA. I don't see anything good coming from any of this in any way.
Thank you for this important news Emily, and for all your work ! After sharing with an epigenetiscist, he was surprised that the nitrate levels stated (50 to 70 ppm) would be associated with miscarriage, and indeed on the link behind that comment, the authors of the scientific study say "We conclude that the current literature does not provide sufficient evidence of a causal relationship between exposure to nitrates in drinking water and adverse reproductive effects". I think the threshold to declare a causal link is pretty high, so I'm sure this doesn't negate any anecdotal evidence of effects, but in the interest of being able to tell this person that investigative journalists don't spread misinformation, I thought I would point it out !!
Gotta say, reading the underlying report left me with the feeling this was 95% an "industrial agriculture" problem and 5% a "data center" problem. Funky water system up there. Seems like they were adding CAFOs before they added data centers. Folks are getting sick from nitrates, just like they've been getting sick from nitrates from fertilizers and animal waste in farm country for decades. Similar nitrate levels are found in many wells in the ag areas Midwest, TX, CA w/o any help from data centers. Of course the locals like to blame the big new outsider.
One of my big gripes w/data centers in the NW is that they moved in to get "24/7 clean power" from existing hydro, not by creating much new clean power. They bid up the elec price, and drove out aluminum smelters. And now most aluminum comes from some smelter elsewhere which may or may not be powered "cleanly." And now all of sudden aluminum is a "critical mineral" and OMG, look your solar panels use materials imported OMG from some "unfair" regime like Canada OMG.
This isnt a "5% data center problem". Amazon is worth trillions at this point. Even the suggestion of amplifying the pollution problem could have been met with more rigorous testing. I'm pretty sure the concentrated nitrates they produced led to all those people's problems. It certainly didn't help their health.
That was an excellent piece of journalism that read like a modern day Chinatown. I dontated to that outfit after reading. Wonder if Washington Post would have ever ran something like that 🤔
Air and water may be the most important resources we have. What good is life without them,?
I'm sure the allusion to Flint is not made in hyperbole. What's so awful about this is Amazon must know what they're doing. They're once again making a choice that prioritizes profit over human lives and the planet's future.
This reminds me of the practice of “landspreading” used by the fracking industry to keep dirt clouds down on access roads to drill sites. They spray “process water,” over dry roads — which is the water used in fracking. It’s laden with proprietary chemicals they’ve pumped back up their well bores — known endocrine disruptors, neurological toxins, etc. I can’t decide if it’s pure ignorance of the laws of thermodynamics or blatant irresponsibility. Either way, it’s poisoning rural areas.