Comment by api
5 months ago
I see the energy issue as kind of fake too. Either we get our power from polluting sources or we don’t. Highlighting one specific use of energy detracts from that. Now it’s about that specific use and not where we get all energy for all uses.
The net is full of loud anti-AI people who will scream about power use and carbon emissions and then order tacos through DoorDash and crank up their heat or A/C. It’s all energy use.
It is a real concern mostly due to the time frame in which energy production needs to be increased. It can't be met solely by building new clean (or fossil fuel) energy, and thus must result in delaying the shutdown of coal plants in addition to new production.
The data is easy to find. Five second search turns up:
https://wolfstreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/US-coal-20...
This ends mid 2024, but I don’t see any evidence of a coal renaissance. I suppose we could be seeing some old dinosaur burners kept online a few years longer, but coal peaked in the early 2000s and has been in decline since.
For whatever reason, Musk's data centre was powered by gas turbines rather than renewables, leading to lawsuits about air pollution.
Whatever the specific reason was (IDK, tariffs on cheap Chinese PV that would have otherwise been a better option?), what people are noticing is a lot of non-green energy being used for these data centres.
Increasing energy demand increases incentives for less clean sources. Is it really that hard for you to understand? Your either or false dochotomy is some highschool debatebro level ignorant shit.