8.2M views · Sep 12, 2025 · 31:10 · 2 HN recommenders · 9 mentions · discussed 2025–2026
A Business Insider investigation into the US boom in AI data centers, mapping where they are, who owns them, and how much power and water they consume. It looks at the costs borne by communities, with a focus on Virginia.
Why Hacker News points people here: Cited in threads on AI infrastructure as evidence of the water, power and community costs of data centers.
“Just watch that and not get hoppin' mad.”HN comment, 2026
“Just watch that and not get hoppin' mad.”
Shows the harms of data centers built near homes.
What? A 5 minute drive is miles, and that's plenty far enough. They are currently being built within 100 meters of homes. It's absolutely insane. EDIT: this video Just watch that and not get hoppin' mad.
“Watch these”
Shows data center impacts on neighbors, compared with nuclear plants.
Watch these link this video link Then, tell me if you want to live anywhere near those. Then, tell me of a nuclear power plant that has that bad a repo.
“Here's a decent piece, but there's plenty more out there if you look at all”
Reporting on data center effects on the immediate vicinity.
> People will claim real harms but the connections are spotty at best. This is a wild claim because it's trivially provable. There's been tons of reporting around the effect they have on the immediate vicinity, and that's without even getting into the unknown long-term effects. Here's a decent piece, but there's plenty more out there if you look at all: this video Is every single mad person doing investigative reporting and / or living next to a data center? No. But something doesn't have to personally affect me to know it's harmful.
“up to 43% of data centers, and this is our largest data centers, are located in areas of high or extremely high water stress.”
Data centers in water-stressed areas and cooling needs
Drinking water does not magically appears in the water cycle the next day. [0] - "And what we found is is that up to 43% of data centers, and this is our largest data centers, are located in areas of high or extremely high water stress. And that's really shocking because data centers require huge amount of drinking water to be able to cool their servers." [0]- Business Insider | Exposing The Dark Side of America's AI Data Center Explosion - this video
“communities unknowingly still subsidize the GPU data centers draw of fresh water and electrical capacity”
Communities subsidize data center water and power draw
Too late, some suggest 50% of www content is now content farmed slop: link The odd part is communities unknowingly still subsidize the GPU data centers draw of fresh water and electrical capacity: this video Fun times =3
“In terms of business, it is not sustainable”
Except the 7 firms make up >30% of all market growth, and move more capital than entire countries. Yes, they are hemorrhaging cash with every new customer, and burdening taxpayers by eating community electrical and water infrastructure. In terms of business, it is not sustainable: this video The hype-cycle is nothing new =3 "Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" (Charles Mackay, 1852) link
“And LLM are economically and technologically unsustainable”
LLM slop doesn't have aspirations at all, its just click bait nonsense. link Drives people insane: link And LLM are economically and technologically unsustainable: this video These have already proven it will be unconstrained if AGI ever emerges. link The LLM bubble will pass, as it is already losing money with every new user. =3
These firms can do what they like if and only if they pay for every $7B reactor, the 30k year waste stewardship, and disconnect from community resources people paid for with taxes. However, currently the unethical burden cities with the endless bill for resources, contribute no actual value, and one may spot the data center waste heat signatures and industrial run-off from space. Consider most "AI" firms lost on average $4.50 for every new user, rely on overt piracy, and delusional boards sand-bagging for time... these LLM businesses are simply unsustainable fictions. Many problems don't have simple answers, but one may merely profit by their predictable nature. I would recommend volunteering with a local pet rescue society if you find yourself getting upset about trivia. Have a great day. =3 link link this video link link
LLM is not real AI, would take 75% of our galaxy energy to reach human level error rates, and is economically a fiction.... but it doesn't have to be "AGI" to cause real harm. link The damage is already clear =3 link link this video
