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The fight against AI data centers isn’t just about tech – it’s about democracy | Astra Taylor and Saul Levin

Claims of nimbyism are a misunderstanding: the movement is about whether regular people have a say in fundamental decisionsSince the surreal scene at the 2024 presidential inauguration, when a row of big tech titans took their VIP seats and signaled their new alliance with Maga, the Trump administration has rolled out the red carpet for […]

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A faster way to estimate AI power consumption

Due to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, it is estimated that data centers will consume up to 12 percent of total U.S. electricity by 2028, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Improving data center energy efficiency is one way scientists are striving to make AI more sustainable.Toward that goal, researchers from MIT and the

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UK departments at odds over energy demands of AI datacentres

Discrepancy in forecasts raises questions over government planning for net zeroOne vision of the UK’s future involves a decarbonised economy powered by clean, renewable energy. Another involves making the UK an AI superpower.The government departments responsible for these two visions do not appear to have agreed on their numbers. Continue reading…

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Officials hugely underestimated impact of AI datacentres on UK carbon emissions

Revised figures increase fears about how the energy-intensive sites could worsen the climate emergency The UK government vastly underestimated the climate impact of artificial intelligence, it has emerged, after officials raised their estimate of carbon emissions from the technology by a factor of more than 100.According to new data quietly published this week, energy use

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US tech firms successfully lobbied EU to keep datacentre emissions secret

Legally questionable confidentiality clause adopted almost word for word from demands of Microsoft and trade groupsMicrosoft and other US tech companies successfully lobbied the EU to hide the environmental toll of their datacentres, an investigation has found, with demands to block a database of green metrics from public view written almost word for word into

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NAACP lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s xAI of polluting Black neighborhoods near Memphis

Suit alleges the billionaire’s AI company is illegally spewing toxic pollutants from its datacenter in the Memphis areaA new lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company of illegally spewing toxic pollutants into the Black neighborhoods on the border of Tennessee and Mississippi.The suit, filed Tuesday in Mississippi federal court, alleges xAI is violating the Clean

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Rolls-Royce secures nearly £600m in UK government cash to develop small reactors

Engine-maker CEO hails ‘critical milestone’ for company in race to deliver SMR technology built at Wylfa plant on Anglesey Business live – latest updatesRolls-Royce has secured up to £599m from Britain’s national wealth fund as it races to develop the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors.The fund will help support Rolls-Royce’s design of small modular

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‘The danger and value of water are in my blood’: how rain fences are making Dutch homes more climate resilient

Housing corporations are adopting rainwater storage in garden fences, reducing pressure during downpours and preserving water for times of droughtGood fences make good neighbours – but rain fences could make even better ones.That is the hope of housing corporations in the Netherlands, which are adopting rainwater storage in their garden fences. Continue reading…

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Using AI to prepare and evaluate environmental assessments risks ‘robodebt-style’ failures, scientists say

Conservationists warn the move could push species closer to extinction and says clearer environmental rules are needed insteadGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastConservationists and scientists have warned a mining lobby proposal to use artificial intelligence to speed up national environmental approvals could generate “Robodebt-style” failures, putting threatened species at further

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Google teams up with gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals

Texas power plant would emit 4.5m tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than that of the entire city of San FranciscoGoogle has struck a partnership for a natural gas power plant that could provide energy for one of its datacenters in Texas, unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is

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