alt Hacker NewsWell I try to avoid running things on the cloud myself, but bear in mind the example here:
Every major datacenter operator has abandoned their carbon neutral pledge since the AI race began, and have claimed disclosure of the public about their water usage is a trade secret to hide the damage from the public. In many cases these datacenters have been built near threatened bodies of water, but they are getting priority access to freshwater before and above residents. The same often happens with electricity, where a significant demand is placed on local infrastructure and taxpayers bear the cost of needed upgrades to the system.
The problem is that these are trillionaire companies because they are subsidized by dozens of taxes on ordinary people. Every transaction we make pays Google in one way or another. Every app we buy pays Google 30%. Every business we patronize is spending like 10% of their operating budget with Google. Our tax dollars are funding their datacenters.
Why is it finally fashionable to hate datacenters? People are finally realizing the costs!
Replies
>but they are getting priority access to freshwater before and above residents
Talk to your politicians about increasing water supply.
>The same often happens with electricity, where a significant demand is placed on local infrastructure and taxpayers bear the cost of needed upgrades to the system.
Talk to your politicians about increasing electricity supply.
> Every transaction we make pays Google in one way or another. Every app we buy pays Google 30%. Every business we patronize is spending like 10% of their operating budget with Google. Our tax dollars are funding their datacenters.
Google is not the only operator of data centers.
>Why is it finally fashionable to hate datacenters? People are finally realizing the costs!
You have suddenly become aware of an industry, have no idea what it does and have been spooked into violent mob behavior.
All the golf courses in the US consume 3 orders of magnitude more water than all the data centers in the US. The fixation on water usage doesn't feel honest.
The concern about energy makes more sense, particularly when DCs burn fossil fuels to achieve their off-grid supply, but they really don't move the needle much in terms of retail electric bills