[briandw]

It's a response to the FUD that is water usage in data centers. Data centers don't use a meaningful amount of water when compared to just about any other industrial application, or many recreational ones. Data centers used about 66 billion liters 2023. source: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32d6m0d1 Golf courses used 2 trillion liters in 2020. We won't even bring up almond production.

[emsign]

The issue is though data centers are being built in areas with scarce water resources and they get prioritized. They still use a lot of water.

[falcor84]

But that should be handled by local authorities raising water prices to account for that - preferably to above the cost it would take them to build up the needed water augmentation - rather than as a worldwide environmental concern.

[briandw]

Maybe. I see the real issue as being that people are scared by change and politicians are taking advantage of the opportunity to get more power.