news U.S. tech giants are building dozens of data centers in Chile. Locals are fighting back.

[Future Sensors]

U.S. tech giants are building dozens of data centers in Chile. Locals are fighting back.

Multiple groups are working to keep Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from doubling the number of centers in the country, fearing environmental devastation.

• Over the past 12 years, 16 data centers have been approved in Santiago’s metropolitan area. Most use millions of liters of water annually to keep computers from overheating.
• Chile is in the midst of a drought, expected to last until 2040.
• The government has said it will launch a national data center plan to regulate the industry.

Read more:

https://restofworld.org/2024/data-centers-environmental-issues/

 

[Recons.Com]

can't they recirculate the water?

 

[Future Sensors]

can't they recirculate the water?

Much of the water evaporates.

The rules in Chile are getting stricter. In one case, an environmental court in Chile has already partially reversed an application from Google, and ruled that more account must be taken of climate change (specifically water use). Google has subsequently stated that it will switch to the use of air cooling.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/...e-data-center-permit-over-water-use-concerns/

 

[HotKey]

More data centers and the internet in general definitely help solve environmental issues especially in third-world countries. NOT

This is a good example of promises made to nations that don't understand long-term impacts of the geographical footprints and cheap real estate investments for billion dollar corps riding on their shoulders and pulling out just as quickly when push comes to shove.

 

[Future Sensors]

Indeed @HotKey

Surging digital data use by 2030 may cause each of us in the developed world to have a “digital doppelganger,” with our internet use consuming as much water as our physical bodies. But much of the stored data is “junk.” Critics urge that nations insist on tougher regulations for transnational companies, easing the crisis.

[...]

By 2030, the average European internet user is expected to consume 3 liters (0.8 gallons) of water every 24 hours — more than that person drinks each day. The world, analysts say, is in the process of creating “digital doppelgangers.”

[...]

If data use keeps increasing at this exponential pace, by 2035, humanity may need 10-20 times more data centers globally, with Latin America eyed by the IT industry as an inexpensive site for that expansion. Drought-impacted Uruguay and Chile currently figure into those plans.

Source:

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/t...a-centers-threaten-latin-america-critics-say/

 

[Recons.Com]

Much of the water evaporates.

The rules in Chile are getting stricter. In one case, an environmental court in Chile has already partially reversed an application from Google, and ruled that more account must be taken of climate change (specifically water use). Google has subsequently stated that it will switch to the use of air cooling.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/...e-data-center-permit-over-water-use-concerns/

Why aren't they using ocean water?