Gerry McGovernJun 5

Imagine something that in 2020 didn't really exist but has so exploded onto our environment that in 2030 it will demand the water of 1.3 billion people and the electricity of 2 billion.

In a time when we have a global historic severe drought and when our civilization is about to collapse due to over-consumption of energy.

This is AI.

This is Big Tech

These are the tech bros. Here to burn it all down for greed and ambition.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167658

AI’s environmental costs threaten water, land and climate

Artificial Intelligence is not only responsible for worrying amounts of earth-warming greenhouse gases: the technology's environmental footprint is also expanding at a pace that could strain the planet’s natural resources.

UN News
KileenJun 6
Show threadGerry McGovern

Data centers could consume 9.3 Trillion Liters of Water by 2030

If treated as a country, data centers could rank sixth globally for electricity consumption by 2030.

This amount of electricity consumption carries an enormous carbon footprint – 189 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which only 3.2 billion tree seedlings grown over 10 years would be able to offset.

https://earth.org/9-3-trillion-liters-of-water-un-report-exposes-unfathomable-footprint-of-data-centers-as-ai-booms/

But the top tech bro from Microsoft says they only use as much as a restaurant

Data Centers Could Consume 9.3 Trillion Liters of Water By 2030

A UN report used primary data from a range of sources to quantify the carbon, water and land footprints of AI's electricity use.

Earth.Org
Jun 6 at 11:41amWeb
Show threadMaximummium OveracticansJun 6
@gerrymcgovern I'm telling you, they should be given fracking waste and told that they'd better treat it to drinkability or they won't get any water at all.
Show threadHermannus StegemanJun 6
@gerrymcgovern tbh: there is something we should talk about...
Show threadHermannus StegemanJun 6
@gerrymcgovern when we worry about the water use of datacenters, we should also talk about our meat-consumption
Show threadGerry McGovernJun 6

@hermannus absolutely true. We can do both. And remember, AI demand is only in its infancy.

But you're right, we are already collapsing our environment by massive over-consumption.

We have been overcome by a culture of intense greed. We are the great devourers. AI is a symptom of a deeply sick society that can't even recognize that its greed is killing it.

There are no tech solutions here. It is a moral crisis we face.

Show threadHermannus StegemanJun 6
@gerrymcgovern I hope the discussion around datacenters helps people realise we really have to change our behavioir