Grist
EPA Gives Data Centers a Pass on Clean Air Rules, Because of Course
EPA just made it easier for data centers to build their own polluting power plants, because the 1990s were clearly a different era.
2026-08-28
Grist
2026-08-22
TechCrunch
Nvidia Writes Yet Another Check to Keep the AI Power Grid Humming
Nvidia's latest move: invest in the plumbing so the AI gold rush doesn't run out of juice.
2026-08-19
BBC Business
Rock-Melting Tunnel Bores Straight Through Granite, Because Above-Ground Is So Overrated
A rock-melting tunnel-boring machine that shoots 27,000C plasma is making undergrounding critical infrastructure trendy again - because drones and weather are getting too good at ruining above-ground stuff.
2026-07-22
ScienceDaily
Researchers Build Programmable Chip That Finally Lets Light Take a Breather
Seoul researchers create a programmable chip that slows light on demand, potentially saving AI data centers from a meltdown - and giving photons their first taste of rush hour.
2026-07-18
The Atlantic
Silicon Valley Discovers Building AI Data Centers Is Basically Running a Steel Mill, Minus the Union Benefits
Silicon Valley discovers that building AI data centers is less like coding and more like running a steel mill, complete with Caterpillar engines and a desperate need for plumbers.
Grist
New York Governor Says 'Pause on the Servers' With First Statewide Data Center Moratorium
New York puts the brakes on data centers for a year, because apparently the cloud needs to pay its share of the electric bill.
2026-07-07
Ars Technica
Data Centers Gobble Power, Leave Rust Belt Manufacturers to Eat the Electric Bill
AI data centers are hogging the power grid, leaving Rust Belt factories paying through the nose - and Trump's manufacturing revival plan is getting short-circuited.
2026-06-28
Grist
Cow Poop: The Unexpected Fuel Powering Your Late-Night Crypto Binges
A New York dairy farm is using cow manure to power crypto mining, and tech giants see it as a green fuel for AI data centers - critics call it a stinky, subsidized boondoggle.
2026-06-07
Inside Climate News
North Carolina Bill Offers a 'Terrible Combined With the Good' Deal: Less Data Center Gluttony, More Fossil Fuel Freedom
North Carolina's Ratepayer Protection Act is a legislative two-for-one: protecting ratepayers from data center gluttony while letting Duke Energy off the fossil-fuel leash.
2026-06-03
Inside Climate News
North Carolina Bill Offers Data Centers a Spanking, Then Turns Around and Hugs a Coal Plant
North Carolina's Ratepayer Protection Act tries to protect residents from data center excess while simultaneously giving Duke Energy a green light to keep burning fossil fuels, because why solve one problem when you can create another?
The Guardian
Australian Economy Slows Faster Than a Teenager's Response to a Chore List, Datacentres Working Overtime to Save Face
Australia's economy slows to a crawl in early 2026, datacentres prop up GDP, and living standards go backwards - but hey, the annual growth rate looks okay if you squint.
2026-05-31
TechCrunch
SoftBank to Spend €75 Billion Making France the Data Center Capital of the World, Probably
SoftBank commits €75 billion to build French data centers, because where else would you store all those AI-generated sonnets about baguettes?
2026-05-19
Inside Climate News
Corpus Christi Says Data Centers, Not Just Thirst, Driving Fight Over Emergency Water Supply
Corpus Christi is building a pipeline before it has permits to drill for emergency water, and city leaders suspect a secret data center plan is why the tiny town of Sinton is blocking the project.
2026-05-17
Grist
Chevron Asks Texas for a School District Tax Break to Build a Gas Plant for Microsoft's Data Center, Because of Course
Chevron wants a $227 million tax break from Texas schools to build a gas plant for Microsoft's data center, because nothing says 'good neighbor' like asking for a handout while emitting more CO2 than Jamaica.
2026-05-16
TechCrunch
Data Centers Have Found a New Thing to Gobble Up: America's Power Grid Prices (Up 76%)
Data centers are eating the U.S. power grid alive, and PJM's response has been about as helpful as a screen door on a submarine.
Inside Climate News
Virginia Governor Signs Bills That Make Data Centers Pay Their Damn Electric Bill, Mostly
Virginia signs bills making data centers pay more for electricity, but not as much as originally planned, while Dominion gets to bury lines at $900,000 a mile.
2026-05-15
Inside Climate News
Pennsylvanians to Data Centers: You Can Keep Your ‘Booming Industry,’ We’ll Take Sanity
Pennsylvanians are not thrilled about the state becoming a data center paradise, with a town hall full of complaints about rising costs, water use, and feeling bulldozed by development.
2026-05-14
Ars Technica
NV Energy Kicks Lake Tahoe to the Curb So Data Centers Can Have All the Juice
NV Energy tells 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents to find their own power because data centers need the electricity more - proving that even ski towns can't compete with AI's insatiable hunger.
2026-05-13
The Guardian
Utah Approves Datacenter Bigger Than Two Manhattans; Great Salt Lake Not Thrilled
Utah approves a datacenter twice the size of Manhattan that needs more power than the entire state uses, and locals are not thrilled about the Great Salt Lake becoming a casualty of AI ambition.
2026-05-12
Inside Climate News
EPA Proposes Letting Gas Plants and Data Centers Build First, Ask for Pollution Permits Later
The EPA wants to let companies pour foundations and run pipes for gas plants and data centers before getting air permits, because who needs clean air when you have AI to build?
The Good Times
News in your inbox.
One sardonic roundup, delivered on your schedule. Free. Unsubscribe whenever your tolerance for wit runs out.
Already subscribed but we never reach your inbox? Check your spam folder and hit 'Not spam' (or 'Remove from spam') to bust us out of junk-mail purgatory. You'll be helping everyone else too.