Hacker News with Generative AI: Environmental Impact

Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about (theconversation.com)
As the demand for electric car batteries and smartphones grows, mining companies are turning their attention to the deep sea, where precious metals such as nickel and cobalt can be found in potato-size nodules sitting on the ocean floor.

Deep-sea mining, Environmental Impact, Mining, Electric Vehicles, Smartphones

15 points by pseudolus 2 days ago | 1 comments

'They turned our home into a cemetery': high price of El Salvador's Bitcoin City (theguardian.com)
Mangroves are being destroyed and residents displaced to make way for an airport to serve president Nayib Bukele’s vision of a tax-free economic hub

Bitcoin, El Salvador, Environmental Impact, Politics, Real Estate

27 points by pseudolus 15 days ago | 9 comments

Email signatures are harming the planet and could cost people their lives (theconversation.com)
A recent study has shown that the environmental and human mortality impacts of modern information technology — especially email infrastructure — are significant.

Environmental Impact, Technology, Climate Change, Health

8 points by jscohn85 16 days ago | 7 comments

Global sales of combustion engine cars have peaked (ourworldindata.org)
Global sales of combustion engine cars have peaked

Automotive Industry, Statistics, Environmental Impact

239 points by myroon5 29 days ago | 341 comments

Pollution from Big Tech's data centre boom costs US public health $5.4bn (ft.com)
Pollution from Big Tech’s data centre boom costs US public health $5.4bn

Big Tech, Data Centers, Environmental Impact, Public Health, Cost

201 points by 1vuio0pswjnm7 37 days ago | 160 comments

Polyethylene packaging and alternative materials: A life cycle assessment (sciencedirect.com)
A comprehensive life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of polyethylene (PE) packaging and its alternatives, including paper, glass, aluminum, and steel in the United States.

Environmental Impact, Packaging, Sustainability, Materials

5 points by PaulHoule 40 days ago | 1 comments

Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy (apnews.com)
Malaysia is betting that potential economic growth from data centers justifies the risk.

Malaysia, Data Centers, Economics, Environmental Impact

120 points by rntn 41 days ago | 110 comments

Nevada Ivanpah Solar Plant Accidentally Incinerates Up to 6k Birds a Year (2016) (sciencealert.com)
A rare and unusual type of solar power plant that concentrates sunlight in California is accidentally killing up to 6,000 birds every year, with staff reporting that the birds keep flying into its concentrated beams of sunlight, and spontaneously bursting into flames.

Solar Power, Environmental Impact, Accidents, Wildlife, Technology

36 points by walterbell 58 days ago | 57 comments

AI, but at What Cost? Breakdown of AI's Carbon Footprint (loopbreaker.substack.com)
Amid the excitement and tech moguls' gold rush to the next model, have we stopped to consider the environmental cost of running these models—with their hundreds of billions of parameters—for hours on end, scaled across multiple instances, serving millions of users simultaneously?

Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Impact, Technology, Sustainability

92 points by tnahrf 64 days ago | 162 comments

World's darkest and clearest skies at risk from industrial megaproject (eso.org)
On December 24th, AES Andes, a subsidiary of the US power company AES Corporation, submitted a project for a massive industrial complex for environmental impact assessment. This complex threatens the pristine skies above ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the darkest and clearest of any astronomical observatory in the world [1].

Astronomy, Chile, Environmental Impact, Industrial Development, Light Pollution

252 points by Breadmaker 80 days ago | 160 comments

Great Whales Can Live a Lot Longer Than We Thought – If We Leave Them Alone (theguardian.com)
Bowhead whales may not be the only species that can live to 200 years old. Researchers have found that the industrial hunting of great whales has masked the ability of these underwater giants to also live to great ages

Marine Biology, Longevity, Conservation, Environmental Impact, Whales

4 points by m463 88 days ago | 0 comments

PlasticList's Advice for Food Companies (twitter.com)

Food Industry, Sustainability, Marketing, Environmental Impact, Business

134 points by Jimmc414 90 days ago | 99 comments

Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says (2017) (theguardian.com)
Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report.

Climate Change, Environmental Impact, Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability

11 points by belter 95 days ago | 2 comments

The Destructive Legacy of Failed Aquaculture (undark.org)
Aquaculture is big business in Canada. In 2023, open-net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia alone produced more than 50,000 tons of fish worth just over $350 million. But on June 30, 2029, the federal government’s long-looming ban on open-net-pen salmon farming is set to take effect. On that day, 63 operations will be forced to shut down.

Aquaculture, Environmental Impact, Canada, Business

6 points by EA-3167 100 days ago | 0 comments

TikTok's annual carbon footprint is likely bigger than Greece's, study finds (theguardian.com)
TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is probably larger than that of Greece, according to a new analysis of the social media platform’s environmental impact, with the average user generating greenhouse gases equivalent to driving an extra 123 miles in a gasoline-powered car each year.

Social Media, Environmental Impact, Climate Change, Technology

3 points by aguaviva 110 days ago | 0 comments

Next-generation datacenters consume zero water for cooling (microsoft.com)
This summer, we released our Datacenter Community Pledge, detailing our commitment to the local economies and communities in which we operate our datacenters. Protecting local watersheds is an important part of this pledge—especially in areas where water stress is growing.

Data Centers, Sustainability, Environmental Impact, Technology, Microsoft

12 points by mooreds 113 days ago | 14 comments

Sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety, study finds (sciencedaily.com)
Manmade sounds such vehicle traffic can mask the positive impact of nature soundscapes on people's stress and anxiety, according to a new study published November 27, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Paul Lintott of the University of the West of England, U.K., and Lia Gilmour of the Bat Conservation Trust, U.K.

Science, Health, Environmental Impact, Noise Pollution

9 points by chippy 120 days ago | 1 comments

In shallow waters, cruise ships can churn up as much sediment as a hurricane (wlrn.org)
When cruise ships lumber into Key West’s shallow harbor, they can sometimes churn up a storm of sediment more potent than a hurricane, new monitoring by the city shows.

Environmental Impact, Cruise Ships, Key West, Sediment, Hurricanes

25 points by pseudolus 122 days ago | 7 comments

'We've become an amusement park': Alaskan town torn apart by cruise ship tourism (theguardian.com)
Juneau’s residents are divided over whether to embrace the economic benefits of millions of visitors, or reclaim their town from an industry that has reshaped it

Tourism, Alaska, Community, Economics, Environmental Impact

6 points by cyberlimerence 124 days ago | 0 comments

'Thirsty' ChatGPT uses four times more water than previously thought (thetimes.com)

Generative AI, Environmental Impact, Research

38 points by todsacerdoti 130 days ago | 100 comments

SpaceX Starship's Sonic Boom Creates Risk of Structural Damage, Test Finds (nytimes.com)
SpaceX’s new Starship rocket far exceeds projected maximum noise levels, generating a sonic boom so powerful it risks property damage in the densely populated residential community near its South Texas launch site, new data suggests.

SpaceX, Starship, Sonic Boom, Aerospace, Environmental Impact

14 points by cainxinth 134 days ago | 9 comments

Outdoor tourism produces copious waste, accelerates effects of climate change (dailycollegian.com)
Spending time outdoors has many benefits, such as improved physical and mental health and promoting community building. But with being outdoors comes great responsibility. It is important to acknowledge the impact humans have on the environment and the cultural importance of many outdoor spaces.

Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Impact, Climate Change, Sustainability

4 points by rntn 136 days ago | 1 comments

Generative AI Has an E-Waste Problem (ieee.org)
Rapid growth could result in an annual e-waste stream of 2.5 million tonnes by 2030

Generative AI, E-waste, Environmental Impact

9 points by rbanffy 148 days ago | 4 comments

Billionaires emit more CO₂ in 90 minutes than most people do in a lifetime (oxfam.org)
Fifty of the world’s richest billionaires on average produce more carbon through their investments, private jets and yachts in just over an hour and a half than the average person does in their entire lifetime, a new Oxfam report reveals today.

Climate Change, Wealth Inequality, Environmental Impact

48 points by sunkcostisalie 149 days ago | 26 comments

Ultra-processed foods, animal-plant protein intake ratios' environmental impacts (sciencedirect.com)
There is growing concern about the various impacts of food consumption, both on human and planetary health.

Food Science, Environmental Impact, Nutrition, Sustainability

9 points by rntn 153 days ago | 0 comments

Astronomers Push FCC to Halt New Starlink Launches, Citing Environment (pcmag.com)
A group of 120 astronomers and space experts is calling for a pause on new Starlink launches from SpaceX until the US can fully investigate the environmental effects of large satellite constellations.

Space Exploration, Satellite Technology, Environmental Impact

32 points by lg_rocket 159 days ago | 0 comments

You could push it to extinction: social media is putting rarest wildlife at risk (theguardian.com)
From breeding spots overrun by visitors to photographers disturbing endangered species, experts say the rarer the find is, the bigger the problem

Wildlife Conservation, Social Media, Endangered Species, Environmental Impact

5 points by beardyw 188 days ago | 0 comments

Datacenters bleed watts and cash – all because they're afraid to flip a switch (theregister.com)
Datacenter power consumption has become a major concern in recent years, as utilities struggle to keep up with growing demand and operators are forced to seek alternative means to keep the lights on.

Datacenters, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Impact, Technology

11 points by LinuxBender 193 days ago | 5 comments

Using GPT-4 to generate 100 words consumes up to 3 bottles of water (tomshardware.com)

Generative AI, Environmental Impact

13 points by geox 194 days ago | 13 comments

AI is 'accelerating the climate crisis,' expert warns (techxplore.com)
If you care about the environment, think twice about using AI. Generative artificial intelligence uses 30 times more energy than a traditional search engine, warns researcher Sasha Luccioni, on a mission to raise awareness about the environmental impact of the hot new technology.

Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Environmental Impact, Technology

4 points by geox 199 days ago | 1 comments