I think I remember this Monsterdon...
A tiny worm discovered in the Great Salt Lake could help scientists better understand the origins and resilience of life in extreme environments. Its story remains largely a mystery.
New filing stirs #GreatSaltLake fears as giant #Utah #DataCenter comes into view, eyes water needs
by Jennifer Green
Thu, May 21, 2026
"A new #WaterRights filing tied to a proposed #MegaDatacenter in northern Utah is renewing fears about the future of the Great Salt Lake, just as new renderings offer the clearest look yet at what the massive development could become.
"What's happening?
"A proposal connected to the #BoxElderCounty data center project seeks to transfer 11 acre-feet of water from an unnamed spring in #HanselValley, KSL reported.
"That marks a steep drop from a previous 1,900-acre-foot application that was withdrawn May 7 after prompting around 3,800 protests.
[...]
"The proposal is facing intense scrutiny because the Great Salt Lake is already under strain from long-term water shortages, and data centers can consume huge amounts of both electricity and water.
"Critics worry that even relatively small individual filings could add up over time if the development expands toward its full vision, which includes 7.5 to 9 gigawatts of power-producing capacity."
Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/filing-stirs-great-salt-lake-084000807.html
#WaterIsLife #ThermalPollution
#HeatGeneration #Drought #GreatSaltLake #Environment #EnvironmentalCatastrophe
#UtahPol #Datacenters
#DatacentersSuck #SharkTank
#AISucks
Tribune editorial: The voice of the people has pushed #Utah leaders to stop and think about massive #DataCenter. Keep it up.
This is an issue that has united people across the political spectrum.
By The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board
| May 22, 2026
"The fear that a ginormous, water-guzzling, air-befouling, weather-modifying data center planned for Utah’s northwest corner was a done deal seems to be easing just a bit. It’s not hard to see why.
A handful of key state officials are now promising that, before the project actually gets built — if it ever does — the appropriate environmental reviews, with opportunities for public comment, will happen.
"That doesn’t mean that the people who have stood up to what appeared to be a pre-greased mega-project can rest easy. Vigilance and activism are what have worked so far, and will be necessary going forward. As long and exhausting as that process might be.
"It will take a lot of continual public outcry to counterbalance the monied interests pouring campaign contributions into the coffers of Utah Senate President #StuartAdams and other powerful worthies who have been pushing the plan.
"Few Utahns had any inkling that a little-known state agency called the Military Installation Development Authority (#MIDA), which Adams chairs, had put its weight behind the #StratosProject, a proposed data center that would, at full build-out, generate and consume twice as much electricity as the whole state of Utah.
"The Box Elder County Commission had to sign off on the project before the MIDA board could take over all land-use, water, energy, environmental and tax-abatement authority over the 40,000-acre project — immune from any democratic oversight.
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"Despite loud public objections, online and in person, commissioners did exactly that. Given that the land is privately owned, not part of any city and not zoned for any particular use, commissioners argued they really didn’t have the power to stop it.
"But others do."
Read more:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2026/05/22/tribune-editorial-public-outcry/
#UtahPol #KevinOLeary #WaterConsumption #HeatPollution #ResistDatacenters #WaterIsLife #ThermalPollution #HeatGeneration
#Drought #GreatSaltLake
#Environment #EnvironmentalCatastrophe #Datacenters #DatacentersSuck
#SharkTank #AISucks
“Vigilance and activism are what have worked so far, and will be necessary going forward,” writes The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board. “As long and exhausting as that process might be.”
The 23-Atomic-Bomb Valley: Why #Utah’s #AIDataCenter Is A #ClimateDisaster In The Making
by Rex Freiberger
Wed, May 20, 2026 at 11:18 AM EDT
"Your state might be next. Utah counties just approved a data center so massive it would consume more power than the entire state currently uses, dump the heat equivalent of 23 atomic bombs daily into high desert, and potentially increase local #carbon emissions by 55%. Welcome to the #StratosProject—#KevinOLeary’s 40,000-acre bet that #AI supremacy trumps everything else."
[...]
"Utah State University physicist Robert Davies calculated #Stratos would dump 16 gigawatts of #ThermalLoad into the surrounding valley—energy equivalent to 23 Hiroshima-scale atomic bombs worth of #heat every single day. You’re trying to cool massive server farms by blowing hot desert air over hot radiators, Davies notes, which doesn’t work well in high-altitude, arid conditions.
"His projections show daytime temperatures rising 2-5°F and nighttime temperatures jumping 8-12°F across the region. #Desert #ecosystems depend on #NighttimeCooling to generate life-sustaining #condensation. Lose that temperature drop, and you’ve fundamentally altered how plants and animals survive in an already stressed #GreatSaltLakeWatershed."
Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/23-atomic-bomb-valley-why-151828961.html
#Utah #WaterIsLife #ThermalPollution #HeatGeneration #Drought #GreatSaltLake #Environment #EnvironmentalCatastrophe #UtahPol #Datacenters #DatacentersSuck #SharkTank #AISucks
In five short weeks, Kevin O’Leary’s Utah version of Wonder Valley has thrown the state into a massive conflict over water, air pollution, heat islands, and the community benefits of AI data centres.
Throw in questions about property rights, accusations of paid protesters, a mysterious Department of War connection, and a Chinese government interference conspiracy…well, you’ve got a story.
Here’s my update on how a Canadian celebrity investor has shaken a US state facing a drought and water crisis.
#AIdatacentres #AIDataCenters #technology #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #sustainability #AIhyperscalers #WonderValleyAlberta #Stratos #WonderValleyUtah #GreatSaltLake #drought #water
So much for your precious Winter Olympics, #Utah.
#utpol #2034WinterOlympics #Olympics #HeatIsland #BoxElderCounty #AI #DataCenter #Kevin_O_Leary #GreatSaltLake
https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2026/05/07/utahs-data-center-could-create/
Skeptics of the proposed hyperscale data center in Box Elder County are sweating about a lot more than its energy demands and potential toll on water supplies.
#KevinOLeary’s Massive #DataCenter Project in #Utah Gets the Greenlight, Locals Are Furious
The project would be more than twice the size of Manhattan and could consume more electricity than the entire state currently uses.
By Bruce Gil
Published May 6, 2026
"The Box Elder County Commission voted on Monday to move forward with a proposed 40,000-acre #AI and #CloudComputing campus in a rural part of northern Utah near the #GreatSaltLake. The site would span more than twice the size of Manhattan.
"The project, backed by O’Leary Digital, the infrastructure arm of O’Leary Ventures, is expected to eventually produce and consume up to 9 gigawatts of power. That’s roughly double the amount of electricity the entire state of Utah currently consumes, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
"The campus is expected to be built in phases and overseen by Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority (#MIDA). O’Leary proposed a similar project in Canada in 2024 and has referred to both developments as '#WonderValley.' "
[...]
"For his part, O’Leary has claimed, without evidence, that much of the opposition to the project was 'paid' and that the meeting was filled with 'professional protestors.'
" 'We think that over 90% of the protestors are actually not people that live in Utah or Box Elder County. They’re being bussed in,' O’Leary said in a video posted on X.
He also claimed backlash on social media surrounding the project was AI-generated.
"O’Leary Ventures did not immediately respond to a human-issued request for comment from Gizmodo."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/Q9tF4
#OLearyDigital #OLearyVentures #SharkTank #Datacenters #AIDatacenters #LocalOpposition #NoisePollution #AISucks #MilitaryIndustrialComplex
#Trump 's environmental activism? 🤔
"Very important to save The Great Salt Lake in Utah. This is an Environmental hazard that must be worked on, IMMEDIATELY — It is of tremendous interest to me,"
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/24/nx-s1-5746844/why-trump-wants-to-spend-1-billion-on-great-salt-lake
#SaltLakeCity #Utah #activism #environment #Environmental #hazard #nature #ClimateChange #climate #GreatSaltLake #MAGA
Toxins from Great Salt Lake dust are absorbed by plants, soils and human bodies https://phys.org/news/2026-04-toxins-great-salt-lake-absorbed.html
Shrinking water levels at the Great Salt Lake are not just about Utah's water supply—they may pose a serious risk to public health. New research from a team at Utah State University and the University of Utah documents the ways metal-laden dust from the drying lakebed may find its way into human bodies—directly through ingestion and indirectly through food systems.
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈
DoomsdaysCW
JEmphatically
Badger State Breakdown
Katrina Katrinka 
Whinery
Dragofix