Thread

1. motionlessveloc · 1791146077 · focus · HN ↗

   I don't really understand the hand-wringing about data centers and water. Unlike fossil fuels, when you "use" water, it doesn't go away, it goes back out into the environment. And since DCs use it for cooling, not some industrial process, it doesn't even contaminate the water in any meaningful way.

   The one exception is if they're using fossil water pumped from aquifers, which doesn't renew (back into the aquifer that is), but nobody seems to bother to make the distinction.

   1. bix6 · 1791146777 · focus · HN ↗

      IMO the water thing is a distraction. It gets people quibbling over water instead of asking bigger questions about the data center.

      1. Ancapistani · 1791149753 · focus · HN ↗

         Mostly, but not entirely. It is a huge issue in the Southwest, and it seems like a lot of DCs are being proposed and/or built in areas where water is far from abundant.

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