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I mean so what they just pump it through and send it back to the river probably cleaner then it originally was. What’s the problem? The water is not being wast

I mean so what they just pump it through and send it back to the river probably cleaner then it originally was. What’s the problem? The water is not being wasted

jkmcf 4y ago
The heat has to go somewhere. If it’s going into the river that’s very bad ecologically. They don’t address this in the article though.
- throwaway09223 4y ago
  > If it’s going into the river that’s very bad ecologically Not necessarily. I put heat into rivers every time I swim and it's a total non-issue. Heat could potentially be an issue in sufficient quantities - if for example Google doesn't have sufficient dissipation infrastructure before the water is returned to the river. We don't know whether or not this is the case. It would be irresponsible to make that assumption with a complete absence of evidence.
- cstoner 4y ago
  I'm not saying that there aren't potential problems, but warmer water coming off of power plants in Florida has acted as a bit of a manatee sanctuary. So it's not a guaranteed bad thing. It's actually a bit of a problem now that the power plants are starting to shut down.
Calavar 4y ago
The header image for the article is a picture of steam rising up from their datacenter. Nearly all water that we use is eventually recycled. Steam will eventually come back down as rain, and rainwater works its way through the ground and into streams and rivers - the magic of the water cycle. Water is a renewable resource from that perspective. The issue is the rate at which we use it, because the water cycle is not instantaneous. If you use water faster than it can be recycled, you will find yourself running short. This is why water reservoir levels are dropping all along the Colorado river.
- bunabhucan 4y ago
  By that logic nobody consumes or uses water. I think you are conflating local scarcity with global recycling. If I irrigate a new golf course in Arizona I am consuming scarce local water that will become rain in somewhere wet like Florida or Georgia or the Atlantic.
- PM_me_your_math 4y ago
  >This is why water reservoir levels are dropping all along the Colorado river. This is very much a human made problem, but nobody is talking about it. The flow rate through the dam has been increased to generate more power due to the lack of new baseline power generation capabilities. The demand comes from the shutdown of coal and gas fired powerplants across the west coast. The dam has to flow more water to generate more power and the water cannot be replaced fast enough.
  - 8note 4y ago
    Where has the river level gone up to match this increased flow rate?

I mean so what they just pump it through and send it back to the river probably cleaner then it originally was. What’s the problem? The water is not being wasted

jkmcf 4y ago

The heat has to go somewhere. If it’s going into the river that’s very bad ecologically. They don’t address this in the article though.

throwaway09223 4y ago
> If it’s going into the river that’s very bad ecologically Not necessarily. I put heat into rivers every time I swim and it's a total non-issue. Heat could potentially be an issue in sufficient quantities - if for example Google doesn't have sufficient dissipation infrastructure before the water is returned to the river. We don't know whether or not this is the case. It would be irresponsible to make that assumption with a complete absence of evidence.
cstoner 4y ago
I'm not saying that there aren't potential problems, but warmer water coming off of power plants in Florida has acted as a bit of a manatee sanctuary. So it's not a guaranteed bad thing. It's actually a bit of a problem now that the power plants are starting to shut down.

Calavar 4y ago

The header image for the article is a picture of steam rising up from their datacenter. Nearly all water that we use is eventually recycled. Steam will eventually come back down as rain, and rainwater works its way through the ground and into streams and rivers - the magic of the water cycle. Water is a renewable resource from that perspective. The issue is the rate at which we use it, because the water cycle is not instantaneous. If you use water faster than it can be recycled, you will find yourself running short. This is why water reservoir levels are dropping all along the Colorado river.

bunabhucan 4y ago
By that logic nobody consumes or uses water. I think you are conflating local scarcity with global recycling. If I irrigate a new golf course in Arizona I am consuming scarce local water that will become rain in somewhere wet like Florida or Georgia or the Atlantic.
PM_me_your_math 4y ago
>This is why water reservoir levels are dropping all along the Colorado river. This is very much a human made problem, but nobody is talking about it. The flow rate through the dam has been increased to generate more power due to the lack of new baseline power generation capabilities. The demand comes from the shutdown of coal and gas fired powerplants across the west coast. The dam has to flow more water to generate more power and the water cannot be replaced fast enough.
- 8note 4y ago
  Where has the river level gone up to match this increased flow rate?