Cross posted from https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/75575038
Burning one cubic foot of natural gas releases the equivalent of 60 grams of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, including extraction, processing, and distribution, according to the IEA. The additional demand from data centers will generate 1 million metric tons more greenhouse gas pollution daily. That’s about 12% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions today.
They could be running on renewables if someone hadn’t literally spent billions to stop already planned projects.
The oil lobby fucked us, this is a scape goat. Natural gas consumption was already sky high before AI. Any effort put into moving away from dirty energy is constantly sabotaged.