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Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

theregister.com

101–110 of 329 posts

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#101

They chose to add the word "guzzle". They could have just written "Irish datacenters now use 23% of the country's electricity". But they made the editorial decision to add in "guzzle". What's the word for this type of propaganda, where they add in some sort of adjective that wasn't needed, in order to prime the reader on how to think/feel, rather than just objectively reporting the facts? What are the odds that the c…

I haven't found a single source of Irish power mix over time but what I did find suggests that the amount of renewable power in Ireland has been spiking aggressively in recent years. I see something like 15% in 2024 from one source and >40% in 2026 from another. One chart (which I just found reproduced on wikipedia) of wind power is going up at like 600 GWh per year.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#102

They chose to add the word "guzzle". They could have just written "Irish datacenters now use 23% of the country's electricity". But they made the editorial decision to add in "guzzle". What's the word for this type of propaganda, where they add in some sort of adjective that wasn't needed, in order to prime the reader on how to think/feel, rather than just objectively reporting the facts? What are the odds that the c…

Journalism is allowed to have an opinion, that doesn't make it propaganda.

>Journalism is allowed to have an opinion, that doesn't make it propaganda.

How do you figure? Surely it becomes propaganda for the opinion?

Journalists are not supposed to let opinions show in their reporting, that’s why editorials exist.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#103
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The common thread in your examples is the idea of entitlements. Either entitlement to the doctors/engineers labor or a house one doesnt own. I dont think externalities is the most useful model for thinking about this because it is easy to construct a more favorable hypothetical. That doesnt mean one is entiteled to it.

You are entitled to a benefit from your tax dollars being spent. Otherwise, it's just theft.

No, no you arent. Money given without strings attached is just that. Claiming ownership of another humans labor is called slavery.

It might be evidence that you or your government isn't benefiting you with its spending. That doesnt put obligation on the recipient.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#104
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do Ireland's data centers objectively "guzzle" electricity? I don't have any problem with The Register, but reporting laden with value-judging adjectives is not objective.

Objectively, yes. It means to consume excessive or plentiful amounts of something, and 23% of Ireland’s electricity generation capability is objectively an excessive and plentiful amount.

The characterization as “excessive” is subjective. If you disagree, what are your objective criteria for making that claim? You fundamentally can’t give a correct answer to that, because it requires defining a threshold, and that’s subjective.

If people seriously think claims like this are “objective”, I weep for our collective understanding of reality.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#105
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually quite surprised that California only has 4x as many data centers, with CA having more than 7x the population (not to mention being pivotal in the Information Age)

California is not a great place to build data centers. If you need to service CA, there are better options

Oh yeah, power distribution is kind of a circus there isn't it.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#106
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's 7x the cost that I pay in the Pacific NW. Where are you?

I am going to assume based on the fact that the article is about Ireland, and Ireland uses the euro, the commenter is in Ireland

Also the mention of turf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B3rd_na_M%C3%B3na

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#107
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are entitled to a benefit from your tax dollars being spent. Otherwise, it's just theft.

No, no you arent. Money given without strings attached is just that. Claiming ownership of another humans labor is called slavery. It might be evidence that you or your government isn't benefiting you with its spending. That doesnt put obligation on the recipient.

My taxes aren't "money given without strings attached". They are payment for services that benefit myself and others in the community. They're not a free gift for the government to hand out, that's theft.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#108
post #77

Isn't this a similar issue of doctors raised by taxpayers money doing hair transplant and cosmetic surgeries instead of working in much less profitable hospitals with sick people or European scientists and engineers risen by public education working in American tech companies or super rich people from all over the world buying all the homes in London which is valuable not because of its resources but because of the p…

In certain Asian countries, medical education is 100% covered but you must work at a public hospital for X years. I honestly think it’s very fair. If tax payers full funds your education, it should be mandatory to work in public services for X amount of years.

That is essentially how it works in the US as well thanks to public service loan forgiveness for physicians.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#109

They chose to add the word "guzzle". They could have just written "Irish datacenters now use 23% of the country's electricity". But they made the editorial decision to add in "guzzle". What's the word for this type of propaganda, where they add in some sort of adjective that wasn't needed, in order to prime the reader on how to think/feel, rather than just objectively reporting the facts? What are the odds that the c…

Journalism is allowed to have an opinion, that doesn't make it propaganda.

That opinion should be informed by facts and data. This opinion isn't really informed by anything except scientifically illiterate propaganda. That's the problem. Journalists larping as experts in something that they have absolutely no expertise or even the basic scientific background to understand. The amount of misinformation on topics surrounding energy generation is absolutely criminal and journalists are far and away the biggest spreaders of misinformation on this topic. If I could, I would make a journalist without scientific or engineering credentials talking about this topic a felony on par with murder. After all, they are causing significant amounts of misery in the 3rd world with their lies.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#110
post #89
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think its obvious from the context what kind of plastic surgery, the vanity one.

I think it's obvious from 'all nuance is lost' that it does not matter, at all. You're inviting collateral damage, as I already said.

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