DoomsdaysCWMore #DataCenters, more #environmental problems?
As #AI’s reach grows, the need for data centers multiplies. So, too, could the #EcologicalImpacts without hands-on mitigation.
By Ambika Kandasamy, Sep 24, 2025
Excerpt: "A December 2024 preprint of a study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and California Institute of Technology outlined the toll of AI-related #AirPollution. 'AI contributes substantially to air quality degradation and public health costs through the emission of various criteria #AirPollutants,' the authors wrote.
"Other forms of #pollution, such as light and noise, also could be problematic. Neil Carter, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, has studied the links between #SensoryPollution and conservation. While he hasn’t researched #AIDatacenters’ impact on #wildlife specifically, he says AI data centers potentially could be '#SensoryDangerZones.'
" 'Sensory danger zones are basically where we have reason to believe that the amount of light and the amount of noise is exceeding thresholds by which you can imagine there being a fitness consequence for species,' Carter says. 'And they may not be able to carry out the necessary functions that they normally would.' Research by Carter and his colleagues has explored how #LightPollution, for example, could disrupt the dynamics between predator and prey species, such as #cougars and #MuleDeer. Their research also has looked into how #AnthropogenicSounds could affect reproduction in #birds including the #NorthernCardinal, #OakTitmouse and #BarnSwallow.
"To address some of these issues, experts recommend adopting sustainable strategies when building and operating AI data centers and when using AI. The decisions 'we make today will be having an impact on the public health for many years to come, due to the long life span for data center projects,' says Shaolei Ren, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside, and an author of the #AirPollution study."
Read more:
https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2025/Fall/Conservation/AI-Data-Centers
#Datacenters #EnvironmentalImpact #NoisePollution #EndangeredSpecies
#DataCenterMoratorium #AISucks
#NoDatacenters
#HyperscaleDatacenters #ResistDatacenters #Resistance
#FightBack #DatacentersSuck
#AIResistance #AISucks
#AIDataCenters
Corey Bradshaw
Journal of Plant Ecology
Corey Bradshaw (Kaurna Land)
Stefan F. Wirth
