Thread

Improper redaction reveals Google Data Center water and electricity usage

397 points · 517 comments · sensanaty

yeag123 · 1791176084 · focus · HN ↗
As other commenters have pointed out, 13.3 million gallons = ~40.8 acre-feet and this being Nebraska, the obvious comparison is agriculture (Corn and Soybeans being the main crop).
The average Nebraska farm is 989 acers[1] as of 2022 and uses roughly ~1,200 acre-feet of water (or roughly 390 million gallons) per year[2]. So a single average Nebraska farm uses roughly 30 times the water the Lincoln data center uses per year. There are 44,479 farms/ranches covering 44 million acres, which accounts for over 90% of the state's total land area.
Until I looked this up, I didn't appreciate the scale of water usage in farming (even in a state like Nebraska that gets a large amount of rainfall compared to Central or Southern California). I hope that the current data center environmental focus continues to shed light on our industrial water and electrical usage.
[1]<a href="http://farmflavor.com/nebraska/nebraska-crops-livestock/top-nebraska-agriculture-facts/" rel="nofollow">http://farmflavor.com/nebraska/nebraska-crops-livestock/top-... [2]<a href="https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2024/2023-irrigation-and-water-management-data-now-available/" rel="nofollow">https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2024/2023-irrigation-and-water-man...
1. civvv · 1791187446 · focus · HN ↗
  The only relevant difference between datacenters and agriculture is that we need one to survive as a species, the other is actively being used for malicious crimes against humanity.
  1. gr__or · 1791189038 · focus · HN ↗
    We could get what we need to survive on a fourth of the farmland if we kicked the addiction to meat, arguably a more malicious crime against animals and the planet
    civvv · 1791189878 · focus · HN ↗
    > We could get what we need to survive on a fourth of the farmland if we kicked the addiction to meat
    100%
    > arguably a more malicious crime against animals and the planet
    Personally disagree, it entirely depends on your moral and ethical alignment though, of course. Generative AI will be used to divide and conquer us at a pace never seen before, it will destroy the internet/digital realm by burying it in generated content.
    wallst07 · 1791193136 · focus · HN ↗
    Who decides what is or isn't a crime? Are you a Fruitarianist for making such claims?

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