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AI Chips and Data Centers Are Making America’s Water Problems Worse
October 29th, 2024
Via Quartz, a new JPMorgan report that says mishandling water strain as AI demand grows could disrupt global supply chains: Water-stressed regions of the U.S., including in Arizona and Texas, are expecting increased manufacturing of data centers, chip fabrication facilities, and other AI-related infrastructure that need massive amounts of water to operate, according to a report called […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Biggest Clean Power Machine Is Misfiring Due To Drought
October 28th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a look at how climate change is coming for China’s water that fuels hydroelectric plants, putting decarbonizing plans at risk: It may not get the same attention as solar panels and wind farms, but few pieces of infrastructure are more crucial for the fate of the planet than China’s cascade of hydroelectric plants. […]
Read more »Nearly Two-Thirds of the U.S. Currently Experiencing Drought-Related ‘Water Stress’
October 28th, 2024
Almost two-thirds of the United States is currently experiencing “some level of water stress related to drought,” according to a newly updated Drought Aware map from Esri. Using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, the USDA, the National Water Model, and other government agencies, the new maps can show users weekly national drought conditions ranging from 2000 […]
Read more »Mississippi River Dries Up Again at Worst Time for US Farmers
October 26th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a report on the impact of drought on the Mississippi River: Barges are running aground even after carrying partial loads Nearly two-thirds of crop exports can be shipped on the river The Mississippi River is suffering from low waters for the third straight autumn, a crucial time of year when American farmers rely […]
Read more »Using Desalination To Terraform the American West
October 26th, 2024
Via Casey Handmere’s blog, enthusiastic commentary on the potential to transform the U.S. west via desaliation: Why is there almost nothing on the left hand side of the USA? Water scarcity! We’re missing 300 million Americans. We’re missing 30 global cities west of 100 degrees longitude. We should do something about it! The western US […]
Read more »Federal Court Ruling on a Reservoir Expansion Could Have Big Implications for the Colorado River
October 26th, 2024
Courtesy of Inside Climate News, an article on how some upstream users are racing to divert more water from the declining river, a choice that a judge wrote in a recent court ruling is “perplexing” and risks forcing cutbacks for users in the future: A federal district court judge ruled last week that the U.S. […]
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