i'm not sure I'm fully understanding how datacenters "consume" water. it's used for cooling kinda like nuclear reactors right? matter and energy are universal constants and cannot be created nor destroyed, so shouldn't this burned water evaporate and later come back down as rain? or are they fucking modifying the molecular structure of the water so that it becomes not-water

same difference as if i drank a liter of water and then took a piss later, it's not that the water was destroyed or even that it's turned to a state where it can no longer be retrieved again (see reverse osmosis)

water cycle?

@vivi ive wondered about this too. the only way it makes sense to me is in the same sense that almonds “consume” water – not that they permanently destroy water, but that they divert water away from other things in places where water is scarce. i have no idea if this is an issue with data centers but it’s the only way it makes sense to me with the way its presented

@vivi I think, from what little of this I've brushed up against tho all of it has been pretty vague, it's not that they're *destroying* water, but they're drawing from treated/drinking water sources?

so the water is "consumed" in that it's not available for drinking/cooking/etc., without being replaced by additional water that has to be collected, treated, etc
(in the same way that taking a shower 'consumes' water)

@vivi and plus, i guess, if you're in an area that uses well-water, then someone -- regardless of purpose -- drawing a *lot* of water can result in wells running dry and needing to be re-dug deeper, which has high costs

@Tamber oh, yeah that's more fucked up. I figured they'd be pulling ocean water and with a simple desalination process it wouldn't need to be further treated like we'd need for potable water. but that would obviously cost maybe 0.00001% more of their investment money vs just pulling from potable water mains, i shouldn't have assumed they'd go out of their way to respect the planet. ok now I understand the issue