By Andrew R. Duckworth
My first trip out west changed my life. I grew up in the rural central United States—flat land, nothing of real character or extravagance to the landscape. I didn’t really care about water growing up except to know that the taps worked and water poured out. I suppose the same is probably true of many comfortable Americans who grew up in the 90s, when everything was perfect even though it wasn’t. I missed out on my trip to Yellowstone in the 6th grade. Otherwise, perhaps I would have had a better perspective much sooner. When I traveled out west for the first time, I saw the rugged terrain, the red and orange dust, clay, and rock. I saw the cliffs, the mountains. I saw what wasn’t flat and bland. And through this I was awakened. Nature became important.
It can be learned in a classroom, I suppose. But until one actually experiences nature and sees how enduring yet fragile it is, I’m convinced one doesn’t actually understand the importance of it. The truth hurts, and many are far too comfortable in their homes with running water, with electricity. I include myself in this, by the way.
But what happens when it isn’t so readily available? Many already understand this. Plenty around the world do not have fresh running water. Plenty endure without electricity. Electricity is a luxury that we have convinced ourselves is a necessity. We often live as though it is, myself included as not to be a hypocrite. After all, I am typing this out to an electronic exclusive medium.
The development of data centers has led to a lot of very uncomfortable questions that lead to even more uncomfortable answers. They require so much power, they make entire cities blush. They also require a lot of water as coolant. They are constantly running, nonstop. If you stop and ask the question of where they are getting the power or, more importantly, the water, you would be asking the right question. More appropriately, what does the data center do to the water and does the water find its way back into our drinking water supply?
The big corporation embracing of AI is the thing leading to “bigger and better” data centers going up throughout the country. But, let’s be honest. We have a huge role to play in this as well. Even those who I have spoken to who are against AI’s implementation in everything are guilty of using AI every now and then. As long as this is the case, we can expect to see more of the eye-sore resource drainers going up throughout the world. It starts small, after all. Think of the television. When the screen became something you could bring home and put in your living room, there were undoubtedly those who said, “how silly! I get my news from the cinema or the radio! Why would we ever need a box in the living room?!” Yet, after it became normalized, I’m sure the same individuals eventually gave in and purchased a television set of their own. And there is no comparison in terms of the resources needed between the television set and artificial intelligence.
It has recently become a trend to have your photographs animated into a cartoon version of oneself. To say that the trend has angered me is putting it lightly. Those who do this have NO idea the resources that this simple trend costs. This doesn’t touch the resources needed to produce the nonstop barrage of AI generated videos that are everywhere on social media, but it is still costly. In the age of information, there is no excuse.
Thankfully, plenty of rural communities are pushing back against the building of Data centers, fearing the draining of resources, fearing the loss of property value with the constant noise and light emitting from the things, fearing a drastic increase in bills. This is only if the citizens get advanced warning, which often does not happen. I’ve heard of backroom deals being made that ensure the construction of these data centers without the approval of constituents. Yet, these communities, despite the corruption of their community leaders, persist in their efforts to stall the building of data centers.
To bring this full circle, it won’t be long until these data centers tap into and drain essential waterways. It won’t be long until these data centers take even more land away from communities, away from wildlife, and ultimately scourge the landscape. I often wonder if the wilderness of the west will still be there in a few years. Will nature endure, or will our hunger for shallow nonsense kill it?
Poetry and Essays of Andrew Ryan Duckworth 