Thread

Improper redaction reveals Google Data Center water and electricity usage

356 points · 458 comments · sensanaty

drnick1 · 1791146204 · focus · HN ↗
So what? Water used for cooling doesn't disappear.
1. minimaxir · 1791147361 · focus · HN ↗
  A lot of people think it does, surprisingly. People memed too hard about "querying ChatGPT drains lakes" and anyone who contested it was deemed a booster, so it stuck.
  1. jryan49 · 1791147713 · focus · HN ↗
    I thought some cooling setups aren't closed loop?
    minimaxir · 1791147762 · focus · HN ↗
    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle
    sensanaty · 1791148184 · focus · HN ↗
    It doesn't mean the water goes back into the same sources it was pulled from, though
2. alcomatt · 1791148362 · focus · HN ↗
  no it doesn't but it doesn't go back to where it was taken from either. So it does affect local aquifers.
3. ordersofmag · 1791149766 · focus · HN ↗
  Historically large data centers used evaporative cooling. So the water disappeared in sense that it's no longer available in a useful form in it's original locations. That's changing with growing use of closed-loop systems.
  1. jchook · 1791183725 · focus · HN ↗
    It evaporates into the location though?

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