Reuters: Trump administration backs Musk’s xAI in NAACP data center lawsuit. “President Donald Trump’s administration has asked a federal judge to block ​an NAACP lawsuit over emissions tied to data centers ‌powering Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, in a case the government said pits executive power against limits on citizen enforcement of environmental laws.”

Good ol' #RioTinto. Building a dangerous #LithiumHydroxide plant near some of my ancestral lands (#Wolinak #Abenaki). They seem to have a pattern of polluting and destroying #IndigenousLands -- whether in #Canada, the #UnitedStates , #Australia, etc., etc.!

#RioTinto takes majority control of #Canada’s #Nemaska #Lithium

By Thomson Reuters Feb 18, 2026 | 8:35 AM

Feb 18 (Reuters) – "Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it has gained majority control of Canada’s Nemaska Lithium, advancing its push ​to build an integrated lithium business ‌in #Quebec.

"The Anglo-Australian miner now holds a 53.9% stake in the lithium producer and will assume direct management, while the Government of Quebec holds 46.1%.

"Rio ‌Tinto ​is seeking to establish ⁠a fully integrated lithium ⁠supply chain in Quebec, from mining raw ore to chemical processing, to supply the North American electric vehicle market.

"Rio Tinto and ​the eastern Canadian province, through its economic development agency Investissement Quebec, have been ⁠investing in Nemaska Lithium ⁠since March 2025.

"The partners will continue ​to fund the project, including the #LithiumHydroxide ​plant in #Becancour, with first production expected ‌in 2028, it added.

"Quebec will invest up to an additional $200 million in Nemaska Lithium through share subscriptions, the company said, on ⁠top of an investment of more than $300 million by Rio Tinto in 2026 to further develop its ⁠lithium sector ‌in the province.

"Through its acquisition ⁠of #Arcadium in March 2025, ​Rio Tinto ‌acquired a 50% interest in ​Nemaska Lithium, ⁠which includes the lithium hydroxide plant in Becancour, Quebec, and the #Whabouchi spodumene mine in the #EeyouIstchee #JamesBay region of Quebec."

https://kelo.com/2026/02/18/rio-tinto-takes-majority-control-of-canadas-nemaska-lithium/

#CanadaPol #LithiumMining #LithiumProcessing #EnvironmentalRacism #Pollution

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

“If there’s a leak, Grassy Narrows and White Dog are done for.” https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/this-poison-is-coming-first-nations-warn-against-nuclear-waste-12386404

#onpoli #cdnpoli #settlerColonialism #environmentalRacism #nuclearWaste #waterisLife

"La demanda contra xAI en Memphis merece una respuesta dura porque ataca una idea peligrosa: que la carrera por construir infraestructura de #IA autoriza a una compañía a tratar permisos ambientales y controles locales como estorbos negociables" https://lahora24.com/noticias/demanda-contra-xai-por-que-el-caso-ambiental-en-memphis-si/

#environmentalJustice #environmentalracism #climatecrisis

Chestertown Spy: Bay Journal: Data Center Boom Raises Environmental Justice Concerns in Maryland. “In Prince George’s County, the debate over data centers has an added dimension: worries that the industry will worsen health and environmental problems in communities already overtaxed by them.”

They Are Dying. And #Canada Is Watching.

#Mikisew #Cree’s own health study confirms what the community has always known: the #OilSands are killing them. If governments and industry don’t act, they say they will shut it all down.

by Brandi Morin
Apr 13, 2026

Excerpt: "The findings confirmed what this community has carried in their grief, in their graveyards, for generations: cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan are at least 25 percent higher than the rest of Alberta. Since 1993, there have been 149 documented cases — and that number, Tuccaro says, is a gross underestimate. People who leave the community for treatment are no longer counted in local statistics. Factor those in, and the real number for Mikisew Cree members alone, he estimates, is closer to 250 to 300."

https://indigenousinsider.substack.com/p/they-are-dying-and-canada-is-watching?r=9iuka&triedRedirect=true

#CanadaPol #FortChipewyan #MikisewCreeFirstNation #NativeAmericanNews #TarSands #BigOil #FirstNations #EnvironmentalRacism

Company Behind #CaliforniaChemicalLeak Was Building #F35 Parts Amid Rush of Orders From #US and #Israel

By Jonah Valdez, 5/28/2026

"The military contractor responsible for a Southern California chemical leak that forced as many as 50,000 people to evacuate their homes over the weekend manufactures parts of F-35 fighter jets likely bound for Israel, The Intercept has learned.

"The #GardenGroveCA, #GKNAerospace plant, whose 7,000-gallon chemical tank ruptured last week and threatened to explode, has brought in more than $13 million since 2017 in subcontracts with military manufacturing giant #LockheedMartin, according to an analysis of federal contract data conducted by the #PalestinianYouthMovement and independently verified by The Intercept. Further analysis of F-35 production for Israel conducted in 2025 by #Ploughshares, a Canadian independent research institute, found that Lockheed doles out subcontracts to hundreds of companies across more than a dozen countries to help build the jets. Among them is GKN Aerospace Transparency Inc., the GKN subsidiary based in Garden Grove, which raked in more than $255 million from subcontracts with Lockheed Martin.

" 'While #GKN chases contracts and profits, our community pays the price with school closures and disrupted livelihoods,' Sarah Awaida, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement and Garden Grove resident who was evacuated due to the leak, said at a press conference in the city on Tuesday. “And our people abroad pay the price when the same weapon systems produced here are used to massacre people in #Gaza, in #Lebanon, in #Iran and all across the region.'

"Garden Grove is a predominantly #WorkingClass and #immigrant city in Orange County, just outside of Los Angeles. The evacuation order, which has since been lifted, disproportionately affected residents who are #LowerIncome."

https://theintercept.com/2026/05/28/garden-grove-california-chemical-leak-f-35-israel/

#NoWar #USPol #EnvironmentalRacism #PoisonThePoor #IsraeliWarCrimes #MilitaryIndustrialComplex