Like The Disaster It Is, Climate Change Rushes In
"Resistance is usually portrayed as a duty, but it can also be a pleasure, an education, a revelation." -Rebecca Solnit
One of the most solid arguments against AI is how much power it requires to operate and how much of this power is from fossil fuels and nuclear. According to the Washington State Standard, new large data centers require enough electricity to power about 750,000 homes.
Current estimates say data centers are responsible for about 2% of the U.S.’s energy demand, but Anthony DeOrsey, a research manager at sustainable energy research firm Cleantech Group, projects data centers will be about 10% of demand by 2027.
Today, the United States is home to more than 3,600 data centers, and the market for more is exploding with 21% year-over-year growth. The pace of change and hypercompetitiveness among broligarachs has led Elon Musk’s x.AI to circumvent the law in Memphis.
According to More Perfect Union, a nonprofit education, advocacy, and journalism organization, Musk's new data center in Memphis is emitting enough methane to power a small city, all without permits or pollution controls.
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Make it go away! Words from a nightmare? Perhaps. But in the bright light of day, the Trump administration is actively purging critical reports from renowned climate scientists.
In June, Trump’s people managed to erase the National Climate Assessments, congressionally mandated reports published roughly every four years. The reports synthesize scientific information on climate change, its effects on various sectors and regions of the US, and potential responses
According to Grist, this isn’t climate denial in the traditional sense.
The days of loudly debating the science have mostly given way to something quieter and more insidious: a campaign to withhold the raw information itself. ‘I don’t know if we’re living in climate denial anymore,’ said Leah Aronowsky, a science historian at Columbia Climate School. ‘We have this new front of denial by erasure.’
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The negative news out of Washington is overwhelming, but let’s not get too discouraged to counter their idiocy with solutions informed by intelligence, grace, and joy.
I recently read Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by activist and historian Rebecca Solnit. The book encouraged me to see hope in new ways and to acknowledge that the world is a fluid place and always changing. Even when things seem to be stuck, nothing is static; thus, nothing is truly stuck.
She writes:
Hope is the story of uncertainty, of coming to terms with the risk involved in not knowing what comes next, which is more demanding than despair and, in a way, more frightening. And immeasurably more rewarding.
Solnit makes a strong case for taking action, as action fuels hope. Throughout the book, she reminds readers how small local actions ripple out into the world and reach activists on other shores. She also focuses on climate change throughout the book.
As I consider her general call to action and her specific interest in climate, I am compelled to listen, to learn, and to act. Abstaining from the use of AI (for the most part) and pointing out its many flaws isn’t enough. Government and BIG business are working together to do damage to the environment, and it’s up to us to find a myriad of ways to slow them down, before we stop them altogether.
Please reach out to me if you have ideas you want to share, or leave a comment below.
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More of my writing is available here:
Apple Can Help You “Be Ostentatiously Mediocre And Succeed” on Adpulp.com
We Are Ruled by Math on MAA.org
Thanks for being here now,
