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by DocTomoe
384 days ago
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Datacenters are not things that just randomly appear. There are planning processes, and city stakeholders are involved - which would include the TVA. The fact that they built the thing is a good indication that the stakeholders agreed this project should go forward - and that would involve an agreement on power provisioning. But what I strongly disagree with in the politico article is that the datacenter is framed as a major polluter when the whole area is heavy industry, including a steel works and - a methane-burning power plant. To put the blame now on the xAI site smells a lot like an anti-Musk hit piece. Doesn't mean I like the guy. I just like my journalism honest. |
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It seems like you're suggesting that Politico didn't mention that the area already had pollution problems prior to xAI, but that's literally the very first sentence of the article:
> Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is belching smog-forming pollution into an area of South Memphis that already leads the state in emergency department visits for asthma.
It's restated in the 5th sentence:
> The plant is in an area whose air is already considered unhealthy due to smog.
The power plant down the street is mentioned in the 6th sentence:
> The turbines spew nitrogen oxides, also known as NOx, at an estimated rate of 1,200 to 2,000 tons a year — far more than the gas-fired power plant across the street or the oil refinery down the road.
So I have to deduce that your actual complaint is that the article didn't say something to the effect of, "xAI is adding a bunch of emissions, but don't worry because the people there were already well-abused by other nearby emission sources?"
> what I strongly disagree with in the politico article is that the datacenter is framed as a major polluter when the whole area is heavy industry,
The xAI data center is a major polluter. In fact it's a major polluter even in an area full of major polluters! It produces more NOx than the gigantic power plant that powers the region.