Comment by toss1

>>sabotage every industrial build out

Very few people are actually sabotaging industrial buildout (there are a few who want to end that, but most do not); they are only insisting that what CAN be done to mitigate the ill effects IS done.

And this happens even in totalitarian China when pollution gets bad.

It isn't that hard, and it doesn't even cost that much overall, but it doesn't make the MBA bean-counters happy because it doesn't optimize for their criteria - dumping every cost possible on someone else.

* Pay for upgrades needed for the roads on which you quadruple the tonnage/day * Pay for the upgrades to the grid you need to triple the power delivery to your site * If you are going to do on-site generation, use the technology to contain or scrub your pollution and silence the noise * Don't build on endangered species' habitats

Most of all, be public, don't try to make deals with officials behind people's backs. If you actually have a societal benefit to sell that outweighs the risks and burdens, sell it, and get people behind you.

But making deals and building in secret makes it obvious that YOU have no confidence in your ability to convince anyone of the benefits to anyone but you. No wonder people push back.

>>only talking about the product — in the GDP sense — that a data center output

Although I get value for my $20 Claude subscription, I'm really getting only value that VCs are putting money in my pocket. Until token costs decline far further and actual profit is produced, here's the real situation:

Two economists are walking in a forest and they come across a pile of shit.

The first economist says to the other “I’ll pay you $100 to eat that pile of shit.” The second economist takes the $100 and eats the pile of shit.

They continue walking until they come across a second pile of shit. The second economist turns to the first and says “I’ll pay you $100 to eat that pile of shit.” The first economist takes the $100 and eats a pile of shit.

Walking a little more, the first economist looks at the second and says, "You know, I gave you $100 to eat shit, then you gave me back the same $100 to eat shit. I can't help but feel like we both just ate shit for nothing."

"That's not true", responded the second economist. "We increased the GDP by $200!"