4 ms·

Of course it’s fake. The datacenters aren’t consuming the water as part of their operation they are using it as a supersized version of a custom loop PC. I wor

by ls612 11mo ago

Of course it’s fake. The datacenters aren’t consuming the water as part of their operation they are using it as a supersized version of a custom loop PC. I worry though that the fact that people seem to see political upside in claiming this will lead to data center NIMBYism and a future where building more compute will be as hard as building more housing, with all of the follow on effects on prices.

amelius 11mo ago
A constant growth rate of datacenters will consume water at a fixed rate, though. And the growth rate is more likely to be exponential.
jokowueu 11mo ago
It's not a closed loop though , many use evaporative cooling towers ( wet towers )
- ls612 11mo ago
  But that water remains in the water cycle. With agriculture the water goes into the crops and is then shipped off to other places, exiting the water cycle of its origin.
  - donohoe 11mo ago
    That's backwards. When data centers evaporate water for cooling, it becomes vapor that blows away to fall as rain somewhere else then it's gone from the local area or its discharged a waste water. Farm water mostly stays put but plants release it back into the local air, excess irrigation soaks into local groundwater, and only a fraction leaves in the harvested crops. Farmers can reuse the same local water year after year. Data centers need fresh water constantly because their evaporated water doesn't come back.
  - relaxing 11mo ago
    “But the water cycle” is the dunning-krugerest counter argument of them all. It assumes the reader doesn’t remember 4th grade science class, while misapplying that same basic knowledge.
    - ls612 11mo ago
      There’s a fundamental difference between water ending up in a tomato which is shipped across the world and leaves permanently and water that evaporates and rains down later. Regardless of whatever names you call me that is true.
donohoe 11mo ago
The datacenters ARE consuming the water as part of their operation.

by ls612 11mo ago

amelius 11mo ago

A constant growth rate of datacenters will consume water at a fixed rate, though. And the growth rate is more likely to be exponential.

jokowueu 11mo ago

It's not a closed loop though , many use evaporative cooling towers ( wet towers )

ls612 11mo ago
But that water remains in the water cycle. With agriculture the water goes into the crops and is then shipped off to other places, exiting the water cycle of its origin.
- donohoe 11mo ago
  That's backwards. When data centers evaporate water for cooling, it becomes vapor that blows away to fall as rain somewhere else then it's gone from the local area or its discharged a waste water. Farm water mostly stays put but plants release it back into the local air, excess irrigation soaks into local groundwater, and only a fraction leaves in the harvested crops. Farmers can reuse the same local water year after year. Data centers need fresh water constantly because their evaporated water doesn't come back.
- relaxing 11mo ago
  “But the water cycle” is the dunning-krugerest counter argument of them all. It assumes the reader doesn’t remember 4th grade science class, while misapplying that same basic knowledge.
  - ls612 11mo ago
    There’s a fundamental difference between water ending up in a tomato which is shipped across the world and leaves permanently and water that evaporates and rains down later. Regardless of whatever names you call me that is true.

donohoe 11mo ago

The datacenters ARE consuming the water as part of their operation.