cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/71553176
The AI frenzy could push U.S. data centers to become one of the largest consumers of natural gas in the world.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20260915183628/https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/15/us-data-centers-could-consume-more-natural-gas-than-germany-and-japan-combined-by-2035/
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Not just that. Gas turbines emit multiple times more nasty emissions than proper gas power plants that work by heating water instead of with inefficient motors.
They could have built these next to the massive amount of wind turbines that were supposed to go up. The consumption was off the charts way before AI and they sabotaged every other option since then.
The oil lobby fucked us again and it even found itself the perfect scape goat, global warming is now because of AI.
Why tf does saudi arabia consume so much gas? They have barely any people. Is it needed for refining oil?
Maybe for desalination? I hear it takes a ton of power.
Assuming there’s any left by then.
So glad I dropped a huge chunk of change for a new roof and solar panels. I do not want to deal with the stupid fucking electricity prices these stupid fucks are causing all for advanced predictive text.
So I was just thinking recently about the Boston Tea Party and how the people at that time were just squeezed to the point where it wasn’t tolerable anymore by the powers that be and decided that it was time to take action. Maybe all those data centers can help us read up on neat history lessons.
USA! USA! USA!
:someone whispers rapidly in my ear:
Ah, about my recent outburst. I’d like to DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT AND USA! COAL! GAS! DIESEL!! SMOKE!!! FIRE!!! NUKULAR!!! WARRRR!!!
…erm, sorry. Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry.
(sarcasm aside, be nice if we could have more renewables. If we used something like a tenth of the land we grown corn on just to turn into ethanol (i.e. not food, not even cattle feed, but corn that we turn into ethanol only, adn 10% of that land) - if we used that for solar, we could power ALL of the cars in the US on electric, and free up 90% of that corn-ethanol land to grow food or something else on)
