Vital issue. Greensboro, NC is building its first data center and our local climate group is scrambling. This is an international issue, not just a local one, and developers like those in Vail, Colorado have proved to be ruthless. Alarum!
Good evening Jim, thank you for this…One example that immediately comes to mind is Uruguay, where citizens pushed back against a proposed Google data center during the country's worst drought in 74 years. Residents were already facing water shortages and even saltwater being added to parts of the public water supply when concerns emerged that the facility could consume millions of liters of water per day. The controversy became a national debate over who gets priority access to scarce resources: local communities or global technology companies. Similar battles are now unfolding from Chile to Ireland to communities across the United States. That is why I agree this is an international issue. Different countries, different politics, but the same fundamental question: who controls water, energy, and land when global digital infrastructure arrives at the local level? Thank you for helping connect those dots. Best Wishes, L.C.
Good evening and thank you for your question, Jim. A.I. absolutely matters because it genuinely expands what humans can do, especially in areas like medicine, R&D, science, and education where it can surface patterns, speed up discovery, and widen access to expertise that used to be tightly concentrated. But the same capability cuts the other way: it makes persuasion cheaper and more scalable through deepfakes and targeted misinformation, it strengthens surveillance and behavioral prediction, and it tends to concentrate power in the institutions that control the systems rather than distributing it broadly…a la Palantir et al. It also introduces economic disruption that can arrive faster than societies can realistically retrain or absorb workers. So the “benefit to humanity” is real, but it comes bundled with a shift in power and information control that is already underway, and how it plays out depends less on the technology itself than on who governs it and to what end…Best Wishes, L.C.
Good morning, Robert. Thank you for your thoughtful message. You’re right: there should be no secret deals, hidden public costs, or arrangements where profits are privatized while taxpayers, workers, and communities bear the consequences. The AI boom must be included in the broader political debate because it's not just about innovation; it involves power, water, electricity, land, subsidies, data, labor, and who ultimately pays when the initial promises fall short. Your point about neutrality is crucial…These systems are created by people, influenced by cultural assumptions, trained on human choices, and funded by interests that are far from neutral. History shows that wealthy corporations often sell the future as progress while secretly deciding who will pay. Citizens have every right to demand transparency before the bill arrives. Thanks again, best wishes, L.C.
Happy Sunday evening Robert, I couldn't agree more. When projects depend on limited public resources, especially something as essential as water, they should be subject to public scrutiny, transparency, and meaningful public input. Communities deserve to know what is being proposed, who benefits, and what the long-term costs may be. Thank you for adding your voice to the discussion. Best Wishes, L.C.
Living in South Florida, we are currently in drought conditions. My area isn't in severe conditions but other areas, including Hillsborough County, home of Tampa/St. Pete where a large data center is being built, is. This data center is expected to use 50,000 gallons of water a day.
Palm Beach County, just north of us, is experiencing severe to extreme drought and a developer is seeking to rezone to accommodate a planed data center although neighbors are fighting against it.
While Gov.DeSantis has passed some laws regulating data centers, including adding the ability of municipalities to block data centers, it seems to me this hasn't gone far enough, given our increasing regular drought conditions.
Lack of transparency and capitalism go hand-in-hand here; It seems we must fight back 24/7 against both government and capitalism.
Happy Sunday evening Star & thank you for this. Florida is quickly becoming one of the clearest examples of the collision between data center expansion and water scarcity. The fact that these projects are moving forward in areas already experiencing drought should concern everyone, regardless of politics. I appreciate you bringing the Florida perspective and the local examples to the discussion. Transparency has to come before approval, and communities deserve a meaningful voice when public resources like water are on the line. Thank you for adding these important details. Best Wishes, L.C.
👏🏻👏🏻Love your Project 2026-look forward to every issue.
& maybe one pressuring the Media to Stop Suppressing Input from Mental Health Professionals:
The Information released by White House Physician Dr Barabella-did Not Include the Neuropsychiatric Testing Recommended to him by these👇🏻 Mental Health Experts. & their Warnings to the Public are Still being suppressed by the media.
Wrote a fictional reply to this — a soybean farmer named Dell at his north fence in the dark, feeling the cooling system hum come up through the wire while his own well runs thin.
Good evening Ross & many thanks... I was especially struck by Dell standing at the north fence in the dark, feeling the cooling system hum through the wire while his own well runs thin. That image says more than a stack of reports ever could. You have a gift for taking an abstract problem and making it painfully human. I appreciate the work, the research, and the storytelling. Grateful for your voice and looking forward to the next piece. Best Wishes, L.C.
Before Substack (retired now), I spent a career inside systems. I am a water resources engineer by training. I have audited hundreds of data centers as a cybersecurity consultant. I am also a master gardener.
They sound like unrelated fields. They aren’t.
Water teaches you that shortages rarely begin when people notice them. The visible crisis is usually the last chapter of a story that started years earlier — in permits, forecasts, budgets, and assumptions.
Auditing teaches you that every failure has a paper trail. Somewhere there is a decision, a sign-off, a control that was waived, a warning that became normal because it arrived too often.
Gardening teaches patience. Living systems do not collapse all at once. They decline a little at a time, then suddenly reveal how long the process has been underway.
The Cloud That Doesn’t Make Rain sits at the intersection of those three lessons. It is fiction, but the mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has spent time around water infrastructure, public administration, or environmental management.
The story is not really about drought. It is about a question every complex system raises sooner or later:
What happens when the people making the decisions stop experiencing the consequences of them?
Vital issue. Greensboro, NC is building its first data center and our local climate group is scrambling. This is an international issue, not just a local one, and developers like those in Vail, Colorado have proved to be ruthless. Alarum!
Good evening Jim, thank you for this…One example that immediately comes to mind is Uruguay, where citizens pushed back against a proposed Google data center during the country's worst drought in 74 years. Residents were already facing water shortages and even saltwater being added to parts of the public water supply when concerns emerged that the facility could consume millions of liters of water per day. The controversy became a national debate over who gets priority access to scarce resources: local communities or global technology companies. Similar battles are now unfolding from Chile to Ireland to communities across the United States. That is why I agree this is an international issue. Different countries, different politics, but the same fundamental question: who controls water, energy, and land when global digital infrastructure arrives at the local level? Thank you for helping connect those dots. Best Wishes, L.C.
One more question: what is the supposed benefit to humanity (i.e., other than investors) from A. I., all things considered?
Good evening and thank you for your question, Jim. A.I. absolutely matters because it genuinely expands what humans can do, especially in areas like medicine, R&D, science, and education where it can surface patterns, speed up discovery, and widen access to expertise that used to be tightly concentrated. But the same capability cuts the other way: it makes persuasion cheaper and more scalable through deepfakes and targeted misinformation, it strengthens surveillance and behavioral prediction, and it tends to concentrate power in the institutions that control the systems rather than distributing it broadly…a la Palantir et al. It also introduces economic disruption that can arrive faster than societies can realistically retrain or absorb workers. So the “benefit to humanity” is real, but it comes bundled with a shift in power and information control that is already underway, and how it plays out depends less on the technology itself than on who governs it and to what end…Best Wishes, L.C.
Great answer.
Very good L C.
No secret deals.
No “hidden” costs.
The developer is responsible for all consequential costs.
The so-called AI boom & its public/private costs needs to be part of the larger political discussion.
The TechBros cozying up to various political figures has nothing to do with ideology & everything to do with dollars & cents.
We should be wary of the golden promises of wealthy corporations.
Their destructive potential is immense.
& we’ll be stuck with the bill.
& finally, it’s Not AI. W/O a singularity it’s just massive & massively smart computers
& the “trainers” cultural biases are implicitly suspect.
They are not “neutral.”
Resist
Avance la Lucha
Good morning, Robert. Thank you for your thoughtful message. You’re right: there should be no secret deals, hidden public costs, or arrangements where profits are privatized while taxpayers, workers, and communities bear the consequences. The AI boom must be included in the broader political debate because it's not just about innovation; it involves power, water, electricity, land, subsidies, data, labor, and who ultimately pays when the initial promises fall short. Your point about neutrality is crucial…These systems are created by people, influenced by cultural assumptions, trained on human choices, and funded by interests that are far from neutral. History shows that wealthy corporations often sell the future as progress while secretly deciding who will pay. Citizens have every right to demand transparency before the bill arrives. Thanks again, best wishes, L.C.
If it uses limited public resources it should be subject to public scrutiny & debate.
No more Super Fund sites w/o citizen awareness & input.
Fool me once …
Happy Sunday evening Robert, I couldn't agree more. When projects depend on limited public resources, especially something as essential as water, they should be subject to public scrutiny, transparency, and meaningful public input. Communities deserve to know what is being proposed, who benefits, and what the long-term costs may be. Thank you for adding your voice to the discussion. Best Wishes, L.C.
I enjoy the conversation. Kinda reminds me of Graduate School.
W/O the test on Tuesday next.
Excellent and very informative piece.
Living in South Florida, we are currently in drought conditions. My area isn't in severe conditions but other areas, including Hillsborough County, home of Tampa/St. Pete where a large data center is being built, is. This data center is expected to use 50,000 gallons of water a day.
Palm Beach County, just north of us, is experiencing severe to extreme drought and a developer is seeking to rezone to accommodate a planed data center although neighbors are fighting against it.
While Gov.DeSantis has passed some laws regulating data centers, including adding the ability of municipalities to block data centers, it seems to me this hasn't gone far enough, given our increasing regular drought conditions.
Lack of transparency and capitalism go hand-in-hand here; It seems we must fight back 24/7 against both government and capitalism.
(Florida information reference: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article315560025.html?)
Happy Sunday evening Star & thank you for this. Florida is quickly becoming one of the clearest examples of the collision between data center expansion and water scarcity. The fact that these projects are moving forward in areas already experiencing drought should concern everyone, regardless of politics. I appreciate you bringing the Florida perspective and the local examples to the discussion. Transparency has to come before approval, and communities deserve a meaningful voice when public resources like water are on the line. Thank you for adding these important details. Best Wishes, L.C.
👏🏻👏🏻Love your Project 2026-look forward to every issue.
& maybe one pressuring the Media to Stop Suppressing Input from Mental Health Professionals:
The Information released by White House Physician Dr Barabella-did Not Include the Neuropsychiatric Testing Recommended to him by these👇🏻 Mental Health Experts. & their Warnings to the Public are Still being suppressed by the media.
https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/twenty-psychological-doctors-write?r=56o4q8&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
🚨CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO DEMAND THIS TESTING BE DONE
The only reason any of us are here is because water is available on earth.
Wrote a fictional reply to this — a soybean farmer named Dell at his north fence in the dark, feeling the cooling system hum come up through the wire while his own well runs thin.
Full piece:
https://rossboulton1.substack.com/p/the-cloud-that-doesnt-make-rain?r=2leuaj&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=post-publish
Good evening Ross & many thanks... I was especially struck by Dell standing at the north fence in the dark, feeling the cooling system hum through the wire while his own well runs thin. That image says more than a stack of reports ever could. You have a gift for taking an abstract problem and making it painfully human. I appreciate the work, the research, and the storytelling. Grateful for your voice and looking forward to the next piece. Best Wishes, L.C.
Before Substack (retired now), I spent a career inside systems. I am a water resources engineer by training. I have audited hundreds of data centers as a cybersecurity consultant. I am also a master gardener.
They sound like unrelated fields. They aren’t.
Water teaches you that shortages rarely begin when people notice them. The visible crisis is usually the last chapter of a story that started years earlier — in permits, forecasts, budgets, and assumptions.
Auditing teaches you that every failure has a paper trail. Somewhere there is a decision, a sign-off, a control that was waived, a warning that became normal because it arrived too often.
Gardening teaches patience. Living systems do not collapse all at once. They decline a little at a time, then suddenly reveal how long the process has been underway.
The Cloud That Doesn’t Make Rain sits at the intersection of those three lessons. It is fiction, but the mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has spent time around water infrastructure, public administration, or environmental management.
The story is not really about drought. It is about a question every complex system raises sooner or later:
What happens when the people making the decisions stop experiencing the consequences of them?