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Drumphelstiltsken t1_j0ii84g wrote

> In a Nov. 21 blog posting, Google said that all of its global data centers consumed approximately 4.3 billion gallons (16.3 billion liters) of water in 2021, which it said is comparable to the water needed to irrigate and maintain 29 golf courses in the southwest U.S. each year.

Holy shit. This has got to change.

I get that people love golf, but it seems really clear that many of these places are just not fit to host golf courses, and the water and fertilizer usage is just wholly unethical given the climate reality. The southwest should capitalize on its natural beauty, flora and fauna, and history, among other things. Be responsible and let places with more even and voluminous rainfall host the golf courses instead.

There is so much to be done and changed in the world, this kind of shit should be low hanging fruit.

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japekai t1_j0jjm8x wrote

Those places aren’t even fit for large scale human habitation.

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heinous_nutsack t1_j0kk9h5 wrote

Golf is definitely high hanging fruit because it's for the rich and the poors that want to cosplay not being poor.

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TSL4me t1_j0m8s8k wrote

Bull shit, there is no water auditer. There is no God dam way this is even near true. Golf courses in california mostly use grey water at this point too.

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Iohet t1_j0kjpmx wrote

You bit on the deflection

Golf courses in the southwest increasingly use nonpotable water that is not suitable for human consumption, and water districts are bringing more sources online for this use (along with use in parks and other public spaces where irrigation is useful).

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TSL4me t1_j0m8vjm wrote

Yup, its just an easy cop out.

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mynameisalso t1_j0j2eal wrote

Wait your take away from that was "golf courses use a lot of water" ?

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Drumphelstiltsken t1_j0j2u5h wrote

The article is about Google, the information on golf courses in there was unexpected and provides an interesting comparison.

Not sure what your issue is here.

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Soft-Cryptographer-1 t1_j0j5bf0 wrote

As a previous chief engineer at a hotel with a world famous golf course, its truly gross how much water is used and the amount of fertilizer that is simply washed into bodies of water. Their given use doesn't seem to justify the resource expenditure.

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Bananajamuh t1_j0jdar3 wrote

But how will the rich play their stupid ball game without massive waste!?

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Skellum t1_j0jc0f8 wrote

> Wait your take away from that was "golf courses use a lot of water" ?

Yes, I would value IT infastructure far more highly than golf courses. Especially so fucking few, only 29. That's kinda absurd.

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mynameisalso t1_j0jgigm wrote

We all know that golf courses use a stupid/disgusting amount of water. That is why it was used as a comparison.

Your value if IT isn't the issue. This isn't about more or less IT. They could just use a different less wasteful system. But hey they are only one of the most powerful companies in the world so f it I guess.

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WhatUp007 t1_j0js4lm wrote

>They could just use a different less wasteful system

Like? Data centers are designed to have as optimal efficiency as possible to reduce costs. I am sure Google would love to reduce that water bill.

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mynameisalso t1_j0jsi0b wrote

They care about reducing money spent not water use. Obviously.

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WhatUp007 t1_j0jsu13 wrote

Yes? Hence, my whole comment on how if a more efficient, less water usage system existed for data centers, it would've likly been used to save water, thus saving costs.

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Figuurzager t1_j0kp2tu wrote

Buying water is most likely cheaper than other forms of cooling. Hence that's why they do it.

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DecentChanceOfLousy t1_j0jnrjf wrote

Yes. Google throughout the entire US, providing email, search, video sharing, etc. uses water equal to roughly 30% of what Phoenix, alone, uses to water its golf courses (there are roughly 100 golf courses in Phoenix). The takeaway is either that Google's water use is inconsequential on the scale of the US or that we're spending way too much water on grass for a sport that uses so much land that most people use a motorized cart to play it.

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