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I Live Next To Amazon’s Largest Data Center. They’re Stealing Our Water
Amazon's largest data center is reportedly depleting local water resources, raising concerns about water rights and environmental impacts. The issue has been highlighted in a media piece by Dan Lieberman, emphasizing the need for public engagement and oversight in government policies related to water quality and quantity.
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Compute and Consequence Webinar: AI Energy Demand in a Rapidly Evolving Grid Landscape
Despite tech companies' net-zero pledges, surging AI compute demand fast-tracks new gas plant construction and delays coal retirements across U.S. grids. As You Sow and Sierra Club analyze utility load forecasts, quantify ratepayer cost shifts and present shareholder engagement frameworks for the energy and tech sectors.
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We Found the Hidden Cost of Data Centers. It’s in Your Electric Bill
Data centers drove 63 percent of PJM's record capacity auction price increase, adding an estimated $9.3 billion in costs for ratepayers across 13 states. Amazon and Meta negotiate secret utility deals that shift infrastructure spending onto households. Maryland and Oregon passed laws creating separate rate classes for data centers in response.
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Shaolei Ren: AI consumes a lot of water — but why? | TED Talk
In this TED Talk, UC Riverside professor Shaolei Ren explains how AI's rapid expansion is driving significant water consumption through data center cooling, energy-intensive model training, and chip manufacturing. Ren highlights that US data centers already consume roughly 2–3% of public water supplies, and that figure is projected to rise sharply. The talk advocates for…
Exposing AI Data Center Threats and Harms