Press Release: Rising #Emissions, Depleting #Water and Vanishing #Land—UN Scientists: #AI Is Threatening #NaturalResources for Billions

By 2030, AI's water use will match the needs of 1.3 billion people while its power use triples that of 650 million, UN University investigation warns

Date Published
3 Jun 2026

Excerpt: "Inference, efficiency, and the rebound effect

"Public discussion has largely focused on the energy required to train massive models. Training GPT-3 was estimated to require 1.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, while estimates suggest GPT-4 consumed between 50 and 70 GWh. However, the report reveals this framing is outdated. Once a model is deployed, inference—the continuous running of models to answer everyday user prompts—becomes the dominant cost, accounting for 80 to 90 per cent of total #AI energy use. ChatGPT alone is estimated to process around 2.5 billion prompts per day, translating to roughly 383 GWh of electricity per year for a single product. Offsetting associated carbon emissions would require 2.6 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years, enough trees to cover a land area the size of Manhattan. The water footprint is equivalent to the minimum annual domestic water needs of roughly 500,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the land footprint is equal to over 800 football fields."

Read more:
https://unu.edu/inweh/news/environmental-cost-of-AIs-Enrgy-use-carbon-water-and-land-footprints

#AIBoom #Electricity #Hyperscale #BigTech #BigData #CarbonFootprint #EnvironmentalRacism #EnvironmentalDegradation #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #AIAgents #BotTraffic #GreenSpaces #Farmland #Prairies #Woodland #TechGiants #ProtectNature #NoDatacenters #EnergyConsumption #USPol #WorldPol #Datacentres
#DatacenterMoratoriums #ArtificialIntelligence

The #EnvironmentalCost of #ArtificialIntelligence: #Carbon, #Water, and #LandFootprints

#AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.

Date Published 3 Jun 2026

UNU-INWEH Report: Aczel, M., Chamanara, S., Matin, M., Farsi, A., Marwala, T., Madani, K. (2026).

"This report, Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints, by the #UnitedNationsUniversity Institute for Water, Environment and Health (#UNU-#INWEH) on its 30th anniversary, examines one of the most underexplored consequences of AI’s rapid expansion: the environmental footprints of the energy required to power it. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in economies, public services, research, communication, and everyday life, it depends on a growing physical infrastructure of #datacenters, advanced #chips, #CoolingSystems, #ElectricityGrids, #WaterResources, land, and #CriticalMineral supply chains. The report shows that AI is not only a digital technology, but also a material system with measurable #EnvironmentalCosts.

"The report moves beyond a carbon-only lens by quantifying the carbon, water, and land footprints associated with the electricity used to train, deploy, and operate AI systems at scale. Its central finding is that AI’s environmental costs depend not only on how much electricity is used, but also on where that electricity is generated and which energy sources power it. Every kilowatt-hour used by AI carries carbon, water, and land implications, and these footprints do not always move in the same direction: low-carbon electricity is not automatically low-water or low-land. The report also shows that AI’s footprint is shaped by both major infrastructure trends, including the rapid growth of data centers, and everyday use patterns, including model choice, output length, modality, and the growing use of text, image, and video generation.

"Importantly, the report frames AI’s environmental footprint as a governance and justice challenge, not only a technical problem. The benefits of AI often flow across borders and sectors, while the environmental burdens of data center siting, electricity demand, water withdrawals, #LandUse, MineralExtraction, and #EWaste can be concentrated in specific communities and regions. To address these risks, the report calls for a responsible AI ecosystem grounded in transparency, efficiency by design, equity and #EnvironmentalJustice, lifecycle responsibility, global cooperation, and sustainable use. By making AI’s carbon, water, and land footprints visible and comparable, the report provides a practical basis for integrating AI into energy, climate, water, and land-use planning, ensuring that innovation advances without shifting environmental costs onto vulnerable communities."

Download PDF:
https://unu.edu/inweh/collection/environmental-cost-of-AIs-Enrgy-Use-Carbon-water-and-land-footprints

#AIBoom #Electricity #Hyperscale #BigTech #BigData #CarbonFootprint #EnvironmentalRacism #EnvironmentalDegradation #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #AIAgents #BotTraffic #GreenSpaces #Farmland #Prairies #Woodland #TechGiants #ProtectNature #NoDatacenters #EnergyConsumption #USPol #WorldPol #Datacentres
#DatacenterMoratoriums

8 #CrestedIbises released in Japanese town decades after #extinction in #Japan

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, June 1, 2026

TOKYO (AP) — "Eight crested ibises were released into the wild in a north-central Japanese town, decades after the birds went extinct in the country.

"The endangered birds took off from each of their wooden cages at a ceremony Sunday in Hakui city in the Noto region, where they were last seen in the wild.

"Residents cheered when the birds soared into the sky the moment Crown Prince Akishino, his wife Kiko and other officials cut a ribbon around the cages.

"The eight birds have been raised at a conservation center on Sado Island in the neighboring prefecture of Niigata following a successful #CaptiveBreeding program. Ten more birds are waiting to be released.

"The white birds, called #Toki in Japan, are native to East Asia and admired for their orange-pink hues under their wings and bright red marks around their eyes.

"The birds went extinct on the #Honshu main island in the 1970s, threatened by #overhunting and #EnvironmentalDegradation. The last remaining Japanese native ibis died in 2003 on #SadoIsland.

"But the birds came back to life thanks to #China’s support for breeding. In 1999, artificial breeding by a pair donated from China successfully led to the first Japanese crested ibis chick born in captivity, according to the Environment Ministry."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/japan-crested-ibis-release-b45a911d3a735ca280686ce3c04f5bd4

#SolarPunkSunday #EndangeredSpecies #EndangeredBirds #SpeciesReintroduction #Birds #Ibis #InternationalCooperation

On Noisy Viticulture

If you drive in Geneva there are hundreds of vineyards. If you drive from Luins all the way to Leukerbad you have vineyards. In effect Switzerland has a landscape filled with wine making vineyards.

Whilst they are beautiful to look at, especially as the seasons change some of them, especially near Nyon have a critical flaw. They use very loud air canons to frighten birds. If you make the mistake of walking by one as it goes off, then it is deafening. Every few minutes all day long from dawn until dusk the canons are fired.

As if this wasn’t enough noise pollution they also have recordings of bird distress calls and these are played every few minutes all day long for weeks at a time. This noise pollution means that if you want to open your windows you need to deal with the noise pollution. If you go for a local walk, by the vineyards, then you also need to deal with that noise pollution. The result is that a beautiful, pleasant walk, stops being one.

It does get worse. They’re guilty of noise pollution with canons and speakers to scare away birds but later they bring in tractors and spray the grapes with pesticides to kill the insects. At this point you have air and water pollution that also has a negative impact on pollinators. It might also not be healthy for humans.

The paradox is that every single year there are articles saying “We can’t sell all of our grapes, we are overproducing wine grapes. My two reactions are “Then grow the international market” as well as “Then stop with the noise, air and water pollution. If you’re overproducing wine grapes then stop damaging the environment through endless noise pollution, air pollution and water pollution.

It seems ironic that in a country that bans noise from 22:00-07:00, that bans ULM, that bans lawnmowers on Sunday, that encourages people to be considerate of others, that, at the same time, they allow viticulture to be so disruptive. There are several walking routes that I avoid these days, because of the noise pollution.

On the one hand they complain that they can’t sell what they produce, but on the other hand, if they stopped wasting money on air canons, noise pollution, air pollution, and water pollution, then the cost of production would be reduced.

The paradox is that it’s around here that viticulture seems to enjoy making noise. I haven’t heard or seen the same thing in lavaux, around Luins and Mont Sur Rolle. or in Valais. This noisy vineyard problem seems to be a Nyon problem.

And finally, I’d like to open the windows, especially in the mornings, when people are quiet, and the air is cooled to get fresh air into a mynergie building. The noise pollution is never-ending so I have to decide between noise stress and heat stress, and heat stress wins. In the end the solution is to go for a bike ride, away from the noisy vineyards. I miss living in a quiet village. In a quiet village you open the windows in the morning, and close them in the evening.

It’s worth commenting that on Facebook, in the Nyon group, I noticed people complaining about the noise made by crows. If people can complain about the sounds of nature, then I can comment on the voluntary human made noises by viticulturists. I’d rather have the sound of cowbells, chirping birds, a murder of crows, than artificial noise pollution. I’m a villager, rural ‘noise’ is normal, to me.