U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers

#151

Post by jjk166 » Wed, Aug 26, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC

docdeek wrote: post #12

vintagedave wrote: post #2

> The latest proposal applies to permits for a "minor source" of air pollution ... [the Vantage data center was estimated to contribute] between $53 million and $99 million in annual health damages, the largest estimate for any single facility ever. 'The largest estimate for any single facility ever.' 'Minor source.' I give you double-speak, gentlefolks of HN. Name it something - anything - and you frame it in those…

FTA: 'The largest estimate for any single facility ever.' From the researcher: 'We estimated between $53 million and $99 million in annual health damages from associated air pollution — among the largest health-damage estimates produced for a single facility to date.' [0] Still enormous, but there is a significant difference between being 'THE X of all time, and being 'among the X of all time'. Regarding 'minor sourc…

For context, a US coal plant on average causes 3 deaths per year due to air quality. If we're not calling a coal plant a major source, wtf would we refer to as a major source?

It doesn't matter that the aggregate air pollution of the entire country far exceeds any individual source, the point of the major/minor distinction is to compare individual sources.

Re: U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers

#152

Post by flanked-evergl » Wed, Aug 26, 2026, 11:15 PM UTC

goda90 wrote: post #113

budman1 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dyson Sphere is the end game. Once you capture and use all of the sunlight hitting the earth, what do you do?

On our present course we're probably not going to reach Type I on the Kardashev scale, let alone Type II, because of collapse. We need to embrace long term planning instead of short term profits if we want to avoid that.

Of course we won't make Type I on the Kardashev scale if we abandon technological progress like AI.

"Long-term planning" has never once given us a quantum leap in technology. Having humans "plan" AI evolution is dumb. This stuff is happening. You can cry about it, but nothing you do will stop it from happening.

The best you can do is stop it from happening in your country, and the only result will be that your country will become completely insignificant within a couple of years.

Re: U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers

#153

Post by bamboozled » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 12:10 AM UTC

Zambyte wrote: post #125

bamboozled wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s wild to accuse people who are anti pollution of being anti ai, look how fucked the climate is, people don’t want to see it more fucked , is that hard to understand ?

It's not hard to understand. What's hard to understand is why when I bring up how cars are literally orders of magnitude larger polluters and how we need to eradicate personal car use, people suddenly stop caring about pollution, and continue to beat the anti-AI drum. See: they were anti-AI the whole time, and pollution was just an attempt at supporting their anti-AI argument.

I guess you’ve never heard of electric cars and rooftop solar ?

Re: U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers

#154

Post by Zambyte » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 1:35 AM UTC

bamboozled wrote: post #153

Zambyte wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not hard to understand. What's hard to understand is why when I bring up how cars are literally orders of magnitude larger polluters and how we need to eradicate personal car use, people suddenly stop caring about pollution, and continue to beat the anti-AI drum. See: they were anti-AI the whole time, and pollution was just an attempt at supporting their anti-AI argument.

I guess you’ve never heard of electric cars and rooftop solar ?

AI doesn't rub rubber on asphalt at 70 mph. Did you know that?

Electric cars and ICE cars both use more watts than AI. If you're concern is energy consumption, cars are worse. If your concern is pollution, cars are worse. Do you care about pollution and energy consumption, or do you honestly just hate AI? It's okay if you just hate AI, but be honest about it.