> Many data centres use water-based systems to cool the plant with towers evaporating the heat, like a huge perspiration system, which means that the water is lost.
> All of these companies have schemes to put water back into nature using projects that help river flow, capture rainwater, recharge aquifers and modify dams. They have all pledged to become “water positive” by 2030: returning more than they consume.
> But where are they putting back the water? Quite often it’s not in the same place it was taken out, which can be in areas of “water stress”.
It's not about whether or not the water is gone for good after cooling. It's about allocation of resources. The water cooling ChatGPT servers right now is water not delivered to households or the larger ecosystem. Data centers are, in effect, in competition with the rest of us for who gets to use the water right now.
>> ChatGPT is useful. This article is not.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html please:
> Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something.