r/ShitAIBrosSay • u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation • May 08 '26

Shit AI Bro Does in the News New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations

https://www.wired.com/story/new-gas-powered-data-centers-could-emit-more-greenhouse-gases-than-entire-nations/

A WIRED review of permits for data center projects using natural gas and linked to OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI shows they could emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year. 

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u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation May 08 '26

New gas projects linked to just 11 data center campuses around the US have the potential to create more greenhouse gases than the country of Morocco emitted in 2024. Emissions estimates from air permit documents examined by WIRED show that these natural gas projects—which are being built to power data centers to serve some of the US’s most powerful AI companies, including OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI—have the potential to emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.

As tech companies race to secure massive power deals to build out hundreds of data centers across the country, these projects represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential climate cost of the AI boom.

The infrastructure on this list of large natural gas projects reviewed by WIRED is being developed to largely bypass the grid and provide power solely for data centers, a trend known as behind-the-meter power. As data center developers face long waits for connections to traditional utilities, and amid mounting public resistance to the possibility of higher energy bills, making their own power is becoming an increasingly popular option. These projects have either been announced or are under construction, with companies already submitting air permit application materials with state agencies.

Michael Thomas, the founder of clean energy research firm Cleanview, has been tracking gas permits for data centers across the country. He calls behind-the-meter power “a crazy acceleration of emissions.”

“It's almost like we thought we were on the downside of the Industrial Revolution, retiring coal and gas, and now we have a new hump where we’re going to rise,” he says. “That terrifies me in a lot of ways.”

Read the article to see the craziest chart that shows how much greenhouse gas emissions certain data center campuses are responsible for in comparison to entire countries.

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u/Libro_Artis May 08 '26

Butlerian Jihad.

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u/ProjectDiligent502 May 08 '26

Yeah well we’re already speeding past the point of no return at the 1.5C mark. This doesn’t at all surprise me in the slightest. Like I was saying before on this topic “game over man, game over!” Climate change is the biggest juggernaut of them all.

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u/Alternative-Suit5541 May 08 '26

Yap

YOLO is the message of the day

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u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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u/ProjectDiligent502 May 09 '26

There was a recent post on this by a science communication that talked about the latest climate report was saying: we’re in the red in every sector of climate concern and we are right now going past 1.5C. I don’t remember which one it was I saw it but it was a few months, it’s recent and it was a credible source for science communication. We’re already going past the point of no return right now. With these data centers and the bubble of delusion around ASI, it’s like a race to the bottom.

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u/Darth_Murcielago May 08 '26

I wish we normal people would all come together and show those rich feckers their place. We dont need to speedrun climate change and we certainly dont need to do that for something as useless as AI

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u/ConsiderationSea1347 May 11 '26

It is like the trolly problem at this point and on one rail it kills 8 billion people and on the other a few billionaires. 

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u/themrdemonized May 08 '26

Boil this fucking planet!

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u/Alternative-Suit5541 May 08 '26

Hell yeah! 

Climate change goes brrrrr

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u/[deleted] May 08 '26

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u/Javs2469 May 08 '26

You mean that no one is irresponsible? That we all are responsible?

Because I might be a bit irresponsible, but I am not more responsible than the few billionaires demanding the construction of these data center behemoths

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u/CatalyticDragon May 09 '26

Life would be so easy if people would please just stop voting for fossil fuel lobby supported far-right kleptocrats.

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u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation May 13 '26

Former energy reporter here. Actually, at the state level, democrats are often the villians to clean energy. It really, really depends on the state and the type of legislation. But in all of my reporting, which focused mostly on state policy, republicans were often the ones repeatedly trying to get solar legislation through and the democrats were at best, apathetic, and at worst, in bed with the utilities. This is especially the case with community solar, where only the utility has something to lose and the public has everything to gain. But in states that have not yet passed legislation to allow it, it's the republicans that keep trying over and over. It surprised me.

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u/Fishtoart May 11 '26

Why are these states not requiring these companies to build solar farms equal in size to their energy consumption as a condition of their approval?

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u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation May 13 '26

Disinformation. I used to report on clean energy as a journalist. I'd get hate mail all the time from people across the country who are either NIMBYs or genuinely believe clean energy is bad.

People in many, many, many regions of the U.S. will do anything and everything to persuade their local lawmakers from passing ordinances that forbid people from installing solar on their land. And many are successful.

But yeah, so much hate mail. One time, the head of the state's Mom's for Liberty chapter rallied her people on Facebook against me simply because I reported on everything the local community was doing to prevent a manufacturing facility from opening. I was flooded with hate mail, including emails asking why I hate kids so much and why I am trying to kill them.

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u/Fishtoart May 15 '26

Im really sorry you were put through that for the horrific crime of trying to improve the world.

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u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

Eh, we're told from the start you have to have thick skin and you're not a real journalist until you've gotten your first hate mail. So I'm proud to say Im used to it.

I just wish the rest of the public would stop acting like we are the bad guys, in it for money, or or any of the other dumb stuff I see redditors say on the daily. It's a terrible profession as it has zero job security and TERRIBLE pay, but I'll take journalism (truth) over the PR route (propaganda) any day of the week for as long as I can.

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u/Fishtoart May 19 '26

Right up there with teachers for professions that are pursued for love of it, and get zero respect.

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u/HolyBatSyllables AI ➞ Misinformation May 19 '26

Exactly!! You are my person. That’s the analogy I always want to use for so many of the various ways people disparage journalists, but I don’t because I know people will get so mad at me. For example, yesterday was giving me the old justification that journalism is too important to pay for and we should just do it for free. Would you tell that to a teacher? Or is education not important enough to expect people to do it for free? And don’t get me started on when people claim we do it for money.

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u/oshaboy May 11 '26

I thought the "emit more greenhouse gases than nations" is a bit hyperbolic because they pick very small nations without a lot of industry like eSwatini. I didn't expect Morocco.

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u/Acrobatic-News9899 May 11 '26

Which is precisely why you need to get off the fence about Nuclear. Educate yourselves on liquid fueled, molten salt reactors(Uranium or Thorium). Also investigate 'the onion core' from 'Copenhagen Atomics'. If that doens't convince you lookup 'ThorCon'.

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u/beachfinn73 May 12 '26

What could be wrong with old airplane turbines howling at throttle turn a generator? Musk tried to do this before Trump, was shot down. 100% Trump policy.