News/Environment
Trump’s coal-powered AI plan faces data center opposition
President Trump's fossil-fueled AI agenda is putting state and local governments in a challenging position as they balance federal energy directives with community opposition to data centers. The administration's push to power AI infrastructure with coal and other fossil fuels conflicts with local climate goals and growing resident activism against energy-intensive data centers, potentially complicating government AI initiatives. The big picture: Trump's administration is actively promoting coal and fossil fuels as the primary energy sources for AI infrastructure, dismissing renewable alternatives despite their lower costs and scalability. At a cabinet meeting on August 26, Trump stated: "Whether we like it...
read Sep 1, 2025Senior developers use AI for 50% of code vs 13% for juniors
Experienced developers with over 10 years in the field are more than twice as likely to use AI code-generation tools to produce over half of their finished software compared to junior developers, according to new research from Fastly, a cloud services platform. The findings challenge assumptions about AI adoption in programming, revealing that senior developers embrace these tools not out of laziness, but as a strategic response to their broader responsibilities beyond day-to-day coding. What you should know: A July survey of 791 US developers found stark differences in AI tool usage across experience levels. Around 33% of senior developers...
read Aug 29, 2025John Deere buys GUSS for AI sprayers that cut chemicals 90%
John Deere has completed its full acquisition of GUSS, the company behind autonomous electric orchard sprayers that use AI-powered weed detection technology. The deal formalizes a joint venture partnership that has been developing for years and positions Deere to capitalize on growing demand for agricultural automation driven by labor shortages and rising operational costs. What you should know: GUSS specializes in fully autonomous electric sprayers designed specifically for orchards and vineyards, addressing critical challenges in high-value crop production. The GUSS electric sprayer operates for 10-12 continuous hours on a single overnight charge using a 63 kWh Kreisel Battery Pack. Its...
read Aug 28, 2025Scientists bring extinct frogs back to Southern California in big AI leap for preservation
Scientists in Southern California have successfully reintroduced native red-legged frogs to the region using artificial intelligence and cross-border collaboration with Mexico. The breakthrough came when AI analysis of pond recordings confirmed breeding calls in January, marking the first successful reproduction of the species in Southern California after nearly disappearing from 95% of their historical range. The big picture: This conservation success represents a rare example of effective wildlife restoration across international borders, combining cutting-edge AI technology with traditional field biology to bring back a species that had virtually vanished from Southern California. Key details: The red-legged frog, believed to be...
read Aug 25, 2025AI turns Rosetta Stone for animal languages as it helps decode whale, dolphin and bird communication
Scientists are on the verge of deciphering animal communication using artificial intelligence, with recent breakthroughs suggesting we may soon be able to "talk" with other species for the first time. The development represents a fundamental shift from decades of scientific reluctance to acknowledge non-human language, driven by AI's ability to detect patterns in massive datasets of animal sounds and behaviors. The big picture: Multiple research teams are racing to crack interspecies communication, spurred by the new Coller Dolittle Challenge offering $100,000 annually and a $10 million grand prize for breakthrough discoveries. The challenge, established by Tel Aviv University and Jeremy...
read Aug 25, 2025Strawberry fields go clever: California farms deploy robots with UV light to kill pests without chemicals
California strawberry growers are deploying autonomous robots equipped with ultraviolet light and high-powered vacuums to combat pests without traditional pesticides. TRIC Robotics, a U.S.-based agricultural technology company, is leading this transformation with its Luna platform, offering farmers a full-service solution that promises to reduce chemical dependency while cutting labor costs and improving profitability. What you should know: The Luna platform represents a significant shift toward precision agriculture in one of California's most valuable crops.• The multi-row robot is designed specifically for strawberry farms and can carry various payloads, including UV treatment booms and bug vacuum systems.• TRIC Robotics positions this...
read Aug 21, 2025Google reveals Gemini AI uses 0.24 watt-hours per query
Google has become the first major tech company to publicly release detailed energy consumption data for its AI systems, revealing that an average Gemini text prompt uses 0.24 watt-hours of energy and emits 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent. The transparency milestone comes as AI's environmental impact faces increasing scrutiny, with 61% of Americans expressing concern about AI electricity usage according to recent polling. What you should know: Google's methodology provides the most comprehensive view of AI energy consumption to date, accounting for factors typically overlooked in public estimates. The company tracked not just active computing power but also idle...
read Aug 20, 2025Vantage Data Centers builds $25B AI campus in rural Texas the size of 900 football fields
Vantage Data Centers is making the largest investment in its corporate history: a $25 billion artificial intelligence campus in rural Texas that signals just how dramatically the AI boom is reshaping America's digital infrastructure landscape. The massive project, dubbed Frontier, will span 1,200 acres in Shackelford County, Texas—roughly the size of 900 football fields. When complete, this hyperscale facility will deliver 1.4 gigawatts of power capacity, enough electricity to power roughly one million homes, making it the largest data center campus in Vantage's global portfolio. Why this matters This investment represents more than just corporate expansion—it's a window into the...
read Aug 18, 2025Malaysia’s AI data center boom strains power grid and water supply
Malaysia's southern state of Johor has emerged as one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing data center hubs, attracting billions in investments from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and ByteDance amid the AI boom. However, the massive infrastructure demands are straining the region's energy grid and water resources, forcing officials to slow project approvals and implement sustainability measures as the state grapples with powering what could become a 5,800-megawatt data center ecosystem. The scale of growth: Johor's data center expansion represents one of the most dramatic infrastructure buildouts in Southeast Asia, driven by AI's computational demands. The state currently operates about 580...
read Aug 18, 2025Electricity prices surge twice as fast as inflation, driven by AI data centers
Electricity prices are surging more than twice as fast as overall inflation, creating a financial strain for households nationwide as they grapple with soaring summer cooling costs. The rapid price increases stem from multiple factors, including rising natural gas costs, explosive growth in power-hungry AI data centers, and increased natural gas exports that drive up domestic energy prices. What you should know: American households are facing unprecedented electricity cost increases that far exceed general inflation rates. Electricity prices have jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living in the past year, hitting families hardest during peak...
read Aug 15, 2025UK balances AI energy demands with renewable power transition
The United Kingdom faces a critical infrastructure challenge as artificial intelligence reshapes the digital economy. AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity at precisely the moment when national grids are transitioning toward renewable energy sources. This creates a complex balancing act between technological advancement and environmental sustainability that could determine whether the UK achieves its ambitious AI leadership goals. The scale of this challenge is substantial. The International Energy Agency reports that a single ChatGPT query requires 2.9 watt-hours of electricity—nearly ten times more than a traditional Google search, which consumes just 0.3 watt-hours. With ChatGPT surpassing 100 million...
read Aug 15, 2025UK tackles AI data center power surge with smart scheduling
The United Kingdom faces a critical infrastructure challenge as artificial intelligence reshapes the digital economy. AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity at precisely the moment when national grids are transitioning toward renewable energy sources. This creates a complex balancing act between technological advancement and environmental sustainability that could determine whether the UK achieves its ambitious AI leadership goals. The scale of this challenge is substantial. The International Energy Agency reports that a single ChatGPT query requires 2.9 watt-hours of electricity—nearly ten times more than a traditional Google search, which consumes just 0.3 watt-hours. With ChatGPT surpassing 100 million...
read Aug 15, 2025Delete emails to help conserve water (and support data centers), England drought officials say
England's National Drought Group has advised millions of residents to delete old emails and photos to help conserve water during the country's driest six-month period since 1976. The unusual recommendation stems from the fact that data centers storing digital information require vast amounts of water to cool their systems, creating an unexpected link between digital habits and water conservation during drought conditions. What you should know: England is experiencing severe drought conditions with five areas under formal drought declarations and reservoirs averaging just 67.7% full compared to the typical 80.5% for this time of year. The affected regions include Yorkshire;...
read Aug 13, 2025Helium cooling aims to eliminate AI data centers’ massive water waste
Here's an idea they'd like to float by you: helium, not water. Data centers powering artificial intelligence are generating unprecedented amounts of heat, forcing the industry to rethink how it keeps these digital powerhouses from overheating. A new partnership between Tidal NRG and Innov8 Gases aims to solve this mounting challenge with an unexpected solution: helium-based cooling systems that could eliminate the massive water consumption plaguing traditional data center operations. The collaboration addresses a critical bottleneck in AI infrastructure. As companies race to deploy increasingly powerful AI models, the computing hardware required for training and running these systems generates enormous...
read Aug 12, 2025AI data centers cause $6B in health damage, projected to hit $20B by 2030
Data centers supporting AI applications are rapidly expanding across the United States, with California's Santa Clara County housing most of the state's 270 facilities and expecting energy demand to nearly double by 2035. The explosive growth is creating significant environmental and public health challenges for neighboring communities, who face constant noise pollution, toxic air emissions, and higher electricity costs while local and federal officials continue to incentivize rather than regulate the industry. The big picture: The proliferation of AI-driven data centers is creating a cascade of environmental and social problems that officials are largely ignoring in favor of economic incentives....
read Aug 12, 2025Apple’s AI ambitions threaten 2030 carbon neutrality goal
Apple is facing mounting challenges in meeting its 2030 carbon neutrality goal as AI ambitions collide with climate commitments, with iPhone emissions progress stalling since 2022 despite earlier gains. The tech giant's push into artificial intelligence through Apple Intelligence is creating new energy demands while supplier compliance issues and global manufacturing shifts further complicate its environmental targets. The emissions reality: iPhone carbon footprints have plateaued after initial progress, revealing the tension between innovation and sustainability. The iPhone 12 Pro started at 82 kilograms CO2E in 2020, dropped sharply to 69 kilograms for the iPhone 13 Pro, but then stalled completely...
read Aug 11, 2025AI model training could consume 4 gigawatts by 2030
AI model training could consume more than 4 gigawatts of power by 2030—enough to power entire cities—as energy demands for frontier AI development continue doubling annually, according to a new report from Epoch AI, a research institute investigating AI trajectory, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent nonprofit. This exponential growth in power consumption poses significant challenges for utility companies and could derail tech giants' climate commitments, even as companies explore distributed training and flexible power solutions to manage the unprecedented energy demands. What you should know: Recent AI training runs like Elon Musk's Grok AI already require...
read Aug 8, 2025Tacoma demands residents get sorted, deploys AI recycling cameras that mail violation photos
Tacoma, Washington has deployed AI-powered cameras on recycling trucks to identify incorrectly placed items in residents' bins, with violators receiving postcards showing images of their trash along with proper recycling guidelines. The two-year program, funded by a $1.8 million EPA grant, aims to improve recycling efficiency by reducing contamination that forces workers to spend time sorting materials and can lead to entire loads being sent to landfills. How it works: Prairie Robotics, a Canada-based company, developed the system that scans recycling bins as trucks make their rounds through neighborhoods. Cameras mounted on collection vehicles automatically identify items that don't belong...
read Aug 7, 2025Google DeepMind expands Perch AI to track endangered wildlife sounds
Google DeepMind has released an updated version of Perch, an AI model designed to help conservationists analyze bioacoustic data from endangered species and ecosystems. The new model features improved bird species predictions, better adaptation to underwater environments like coral reefs, and training on nearly twice as much data covering mammals, amphibians, and anthropogenic noise. What you should know: The updated Perch model significantly expands beyond its original bird-focused capabilities to analyze a broader range of wildlife sounds. The model can now process complex acoustic scenes across thousands or millions of hours of audio data from microphones and underwater hydrophones (underwater...
read Aug 6, 2025AWS signs 80MW wind power deal to fuel $8.3B India expansion
Amazon Web Services has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with Gentari, the clean energy subsidiary of Malaysian energy giant Petronas, for 80MW of wind energy in Tamil Nadu, India. The wind farm is expected to generate 300,000 MWh of clean electricity annually starting mid-2027, supporting AWS's ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 while powering the company's expanding $8.3 billion cloud infrastructure investment across India. What you should know: The wind farm is part of the broader Karur Wind Development zone, a major renewable energy hub in Tamil Nadu that hosts several large-scale projects. The region includes...
read Aug 6, 2025Against the wind: Meet the “AI vegans” who avoid artificial intelligence tools
A growing number of people are choosing to abstain from artificial intelligence tools entirely, calling themselves "AI vegans" who avoid AI for environmental, ethical, and personal wellness reasons. This digital abstinence movement emerges as concerns mount over AI's environmental impact, exploitation of creative labor, and potential negative effects on human cognitive abilities. The big picture: Just as traditional veganism gained momentum through ethical concerns about animal products, AI veganism represents a conscious choice to opt out of AI consumption despite societal pressure to embrace the technology. Why this matters: Tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, warn that avoiding...
read Aug 5, 2025Meta’s AI cuts concrete carbon by 35% while boosting strength 43% faster
Meta and ready-mix supplier Amrize have deployed an AI-optimized concrete recipe at Meta's Minnesota data center that reaches 4,000-psi strength 43% faster while cutting embodied carbon by 35%. The breakthrough demonstrates how Bayesian optimization can solve concrete's carbon paradox—delivering both speed and sustainability for the trillion-dollar data center construction boom. How it works: The collaboration used Meta's open-source Ax and BoTorch frameworks combined with University of Illinois research to create a "bespoke" mixture design. Researchers fed hundreds of thousands of historic cylinder tests, aggregate gradations, and supplementary material chemistries into a Bayesian optimization engine that treated strength, shrinkage resistance, and...
read Aug 5, 2025Tesla co-founder uses recycled EV batteries to power AI data centers
JB Straubel, Tesla's co-founder and former chief technology officer, is pioneering a new approach to powering AI data centers using recycled electric vehicle batteries through his company Redwood Materials. This innovative solution addresses the skyrocketing energy demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure while extending the useful life of EV batteries that still retain significant storage capacity. What you should know: Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017 with the original mission of creating a closed-loop battery recycling system for electric vehicles. The company has now expanded its focus to repurpose used EV batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications. These "second-life" batteries still...
read Aug 4, 2025AI helps Italian rescue team find missing hiker after 11 months
Italy's National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) used artificial intelligence to locate the body of a missing hiker after nearly 11 months, analyzing 2,600 drone images in just one afternoon to spot his helmet among the mountainous terrain. The breakthrough demonstrates how AI-powered search and rescue operations can dramatically reduce recovery times from weeks or months of manual analysis to hours, potentially saving lives in future mountain emergencies. How it worked: The rescue team deployed drones across a 183-hectare area on the north face of Monviso, Italy's highest peak in the Cottian Alps, capturing thousands of aerial images from...
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