Yesterday, while I was scrolling through YouTube, I came across a video titled “Exposing the dark side of America’s Data centre Explosion by Business Insider.”
Honestly, what I saw really shocked me. I never imagined that the same technology we use every day — AI chatBots, Cloud Applications, social media platforms, streaming platforms, cloud storage, etc., is slowly destroying the environment and affecting millions of Human lives. That Video made me think deeply, and I felt I had to share this with you all… Every time you ask an AI chatbot a question or watch a series on the OTT platforms somewhere in the world, a massive data centre is burning a huge amount of energy, destroying forests, lakes and wildlife — but at what cost? Let's find the key to the problem.
A data centre is a physical facility filled with supercomputers, AI systems, storage units, servers and network devices. Think of it like a giant computer room — bigger than a football field — that works 24/7 to keep the internet running and respond to your every request. Every chatbot, app and OTT platform you use runs through these data centres. But how exactly do they work? How do they store all those videos, music, photos, AI responses and billions of files? When you type a message or make a request, it travels to a data centre. There, billions of pieces of data are already stored and trained to process your request — and the response comes back to your screen instantly. And this happens for millions of users around the world at the same time.
If millions of users are getting responses within seconds — all at the same time, on different requests — we have found our first key. It means these systems need incredibly fast machines to handle everything simultaneously.
Let me simplify it for you. Imagine you ask an AI chatbot, “Generate a PPT on the changing environmental weather cycle.” At the same moment, 1 million other users are requesting completely different things from different time zones. To respond to all 1 million requests instantly, the AI chatbot needs to run like a metro — or even faster.
These systems run on supercomputers and high-end AI machines. And for a supercomputer to run that fast, it definitely consumes enormous amounts of energy. But is energy consumption the only problem? Big No! More energy means more heat generated inside these machines. And if you want to keep supercomputers from overheating, you need powerful cooling systems — systems that throw all that heat outside the building. And that heat has to go somewhere — straight into the air around us, into the soil, and eventually into our environment. This is where the real problem begins.
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| Looking at this map tells the whole story. Over 10,000 data centres are spread across 85+ countries worldwide. North America and Europe are the most heavily concentrated regions. And this number is growing every single day. |
The data centre industry is booming massively, but the path is not easy for human beings. We already know that data centres require enormous amounts of energy. A data centre can be anything from a single server room to a massive facility spanning thousands of acres — all built to store and process the world's data. To keep these AI supercomputers running, we need massive amounts of electricity, natural gas and water just for cooling alone. And the numbers are truly disturbing.
According to a report by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the US has over 100 gigawatts of data centre demand coming online between 2024 and 2035. To put that in perspective, that is 10 times the electricity demand of New York City on its hottest summer day, when every single air conditioner in the city is running at full blast. Let that sink in for a moment.
These consequences are creating serious uncertainty in our energy systems. As data centres demand more and more electricity, energy bills for ordinary consumers are rising sharply, and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing at an alarming rate. But here is the most shocking part — coal plants that were supposed to be permanently shut down are now getting a second life, just to feed the hunger of data centres. One of the largest coal-fired power plants in North America — the Robert W. Scherer Plant — was scheduled to retire by 2028. It will now stay open. Not for homes. Not for hospitals. Just for data centres and AI machines. The dirty energy sources we were fighting so hard to eliminate are now making a comeback — and AI is the reason why.
Data centres not only affect natural energies but also affect human beings slowly.
While searching the internet for the pros and cons of AI data centres, I saw the embarrassing and hair-raising videos, which were from More Perfect Union, covered by Den Lieberman. As per the video, people who live beside the data centres are not able to survive. Their drinking water is polluted by sediment (a thick substance that forms at the bottom of a liquid). Electricity bills are getting doubled. In summer, the unwanted noise makes them stay away from their homes. It is annoying and quite disturbing that the water is polluted by nitrates, and the air is polluted by toxic smoke and CO2, which will cause asthma and other health problems.
Data centres not only affect natural energy — they are slowly affecting human lives too.
While researching this topic, I came across some deeply disturbing real-life stories from communities living beside data centres across America. A single large data centre can consume up to 5 million gallons of water every single day — that is equal to the water needs of more than 15,000 homes. When data centres compete with local communities for water, ordinary people suffer.
The noise never stops. Cooling systems, diesel generators and industrial fans run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Diesel generators alone reach 85 decibels — loud enough to permanently damage human hearing. Residents living nearby cannot sleep, cannot relax and in summer cannot even sit outside their own homes.
The air is no better. In Memphis, Tennessee, residents and the NAACP were forced to file a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act after a new data centre threatened to make the city's already dangerous air quality even worse, in a place already suffering from high asthma rates.
Electricity bills are rising sharply for families living near data centres — not because they are using more power, but because data centres are consuming so much electricity that the entire local grid is under pressure.
People were promised jobs and prosperity. Instead, they got poisoned air, vanishing water and sleepless nights.
A Wake-Up Call — Before It's Too Late
"The data centre industry is growing at an unstoppable speed. But if big tech giants and governments do not act responsibly right now, the damage to our planet, our water, our air and our lives will be irreversible.”
There is still hope — but only if we act fast.
Here is what needs to happen:
- Switch to Renewable Energy — Data centres must shift completely to solar and wind power to eliminate their dependence on coal and gas plants
- Better Cooling Technology — Companies must develop advanced cooling systems that use recycled water instead of drawing from natural lakes and rivers
- Government Regulation — Governments must strictly regulate the energy consumption and environmental impact of every new data centre before giving approval
- Full Transparency — Tech companies must publicly report their energy usage, water consumption and carbon emissions every year so ordinary people can hold them accountable
And finally, let us be honest. It is not only the tech companies that are responsible for this situation. Every time we stream a video, ask an AI a question or scroll through social media — we are part of this system too. The question is — now that you know the truth, what will YOU do differently?
Share this post with someone who needs to read it. Because awareness is the first step towards change. We started this post with a YouTube video that shocked me... and I hope it has made you think too...