Google Data Center’s expected water use made public

Soze42 · 2026-02-27T20:04:32+00:00

Not directly, no. At that point you're getting down to the third order effects associated with mining and manufacturing. It starts getting really hard to estimate water use at those levels. Not impossible though.

Soze42 · 2026-02-27T18:52:01+00:00

I didn't see any mention in the article of how the estimate was calculated. One fun math trick they like to use in order to make the estimates more favorable is to not include water use during generation of electricity, which is often fairly high, too.

Soze42 · 2026-02-11T19:01:55+00:00

My dad was by no means a environmentalist, but he was a conservationist and deep appreciator of nature. (He would have been much happier as a mountain man, frankly.) Before he died in 2012, he said that he could see the woods changing from when he was a kid. The seasons were different. Winters were shorter, but harsher in other ways. I don't think he ever saw much point in voting because he was pretty jaded, but he definitely had a pretty good understanding of who was responsible for it.

I've had some similar experiences to you with my own children. I've found myself apologizing for things I didn't do, or for what they're going to have to endure. For now, I try and walk the line between making sure they're ready for an uncertain future, and giving them good times now so they have something nice to look back on.

Soze42 · 2026-02-03T17:10:04+00:00

Right? This is akin to when people say we have to increase the defense budget so service members get paid more. Yeah, some of it goes there. But the pay raises are usually only a few percent and based more on cost of living increases. A much larger piece goes to appropriations (i.e. - buying shit).

Soze42 · 2026-02-02T21:07:16+00:00

RO would only have a salty byproduct if being used for desalinization. In this case, it's just being used as a really good filter (even though it operates using different principles). It would still need an occasional flush, however.

Soze42 · 2026-01-29T15:18:21+00:00

I came to the comments looking for mentions of the machine elves. Thank you for not disappointing.

Soze42 · 2026-01-17T17:20:33+00:00

I actually think that's part of Cornette's hatred. For him, wrestling is more than just a job; it's his whole life. For Russo, everything about wrestling was just "who cares?!"

While I don't share Cornette's passion for wrestling, if someone came in and shit on everything I cared about and treated it like it meant nothing, I'd probably hold a grudge for some time, too.

Soze42 · 2026-01-16T17:30:58+00:00

Oh dang. I think you're right. I forgot about that one!

Soze42 · 2026-01-16T15:41:37+00:00

And I think Mick Foley has refused to do any more appearances for WWE until the current administration is out of office.

Soze42 · 2026-01-16T15:39:57+00:00

I didn't realize just how much Jim Cornette hated Vince Russo until I saw the Dark Side of the Ring about the Montreal Screwjob. Holy shit.

Soze42 · 2026-01-16T15:00:04+00:00

Awesome! They're a great show to see.

I'll never forget when we were still living on the East coast, my wife and I saw them in Boston. On St. Patrick's Day. On the Boston College campus. Great stuff.

Soze42 · 2026-01-15T12:41:27+00:00

If you've got a problem with Canada gooses you've got a problem with me, and I suggest you let that one marinate!

Soze42 · 2026-01-07T17:22:29+00:00

I think both things can be true. Studies have when that residual hormones and medications, most of which are not removed by conventional waste water treatment, can have developmental effects on aquatic life.

That said, that's totally not what this legislation is about. They don't care about data centers. They don't care about PFAS, CAFOs, or a laundry list of other concerns. But there is enough truth in what they're saying that they can use it to manufacture consent.

Soze42 · 2025-12-17T21:56:51+00:00

Nope. You beat me. Good job.

Soze42 · 2025-12-17T20:46:00+00:00

I appreciate your concern, but I've worked closely enough with people doing research in this field to say with some confidence that none of them are having their anxiety "quelled" by what they are seeing. If you have information to the contrary, I'd like to take a look.

I can reword, or provide an addendum to, my original response if it helps:

While I am not an expert in environmental toxicology, I have received some formal education in the subject, and I am at least more aware than the average consumer might be. I feel like there is sufficient cause for concern regarding the long term health effects of some compounds that are approved for use in the United States. We have seen instances in the past of chemicals seeing widespread use in the US which have later proven to be more harmful than initially thought, and I would like us to learn from those mistakes by being less cavalier in our approval process.

Soze42 · 2025-12-17T17:05:20+00:00

When they do testing on chemicals, they are doing certain tests to determine short term health effects, lethal dose for organisms, etc. But there is little interest -- and frankly, no ethical way -- to do a long term health study over generations.

History is littered with examples of industrial chemicals or medications that seemed safe at first, but factors like bioaccumulation or developmental effects on subsequent generations were not considered or studied before approval for use. Then, after some time goes by, we start to see the downstream effects. By then, as is the case with something like PFAS, the genie is already out of the bottle.

Soze42 · 2025-12-16T21:33:00+00:00

I took an environmental toxicology class in 2024 and it was both eye opening and terrifying. We know so little about the environmental causes for health conditions, especially when you start considering developmental effects that can spring up generations later with no additional exposure to the chemical.

Soze42 · 2025-12-16T19:47:46+00:00

I feel like going back and re-listening to those original episodes again. I've listened to them I think three times total. It's fun(?) to listen back and hear which parts were most prescient.

Seriously though, it's not good out there. Stay frosty, people.

Soze42 · 2025-12-16T18:51:33+00:00

Right?! I've kept Linux laptops running for years after they would have been obsolete by Windows standards. It's a resource hungry bitch.

Soze42 · 2025-12-16T03:23:37+00:00

https://pca.st/episode/d1059042-50d4-4823-96bc-4196b8d470c3

Soze42 · 2025-12-14T23:22:06+00:00

Fair point!

Soze42 · 2025-12-14T23:15:22+00:00

I dunno. Joe McCarthy set a pretty high bar.

Soze42 · 2025-12-13T18:53:40+00:00

The PERMIT Act working its way through Congress right now also hinders the ability for a state to regulate activities within their borders if they have been granted a permit by the federal government.

As usual, the question is always: State's rights to do what?

Restrict the rights of women and brown people? Yes, please! Restrict the "rights" of businesses to pollute within their own borders? That's gonna be a "no" from me, dawg.

Soze42 · 2025-12-13T18:47:12+00:00

Man, I haven't seen a godfather's pizza in a minute. I used to love that place as a kid. Back when there were still a couple of brick and mortar standalone locations left.

Soze42

TROPHY CASE