Made this after getting curious how the water-use numbers thrown around in AI news articles actually stack up site-by-site. A few notes:
What it shows: a running estimate of global AI/data-center water use, a map of 30 real campuses (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, Apple, Alibaba) sized by estimated annual water draw, and a comparison chart against things like golf courses, fast fashion, and fossil fuel plants on a log scale.
Data sources: per-site figures are triangulated from sustainability reports, utility/permit filings, and known cooling tech + climate where companies don't disclose (most don't). The global baseline is anchored to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's 2024 Data Center Energy Usage Report, linked in the site's Methodology section.
Tools: React + D3.js for the map, all client-side, no backend.
Caveat I want to be upfront about: these are order-of-magnitude estimates, not audited numbers, happy to take corrections if anyone has better sourcing on specific sites!
This is good. Have you sent this to non-profits or local community leaders who have this on their docket? The data will give more context and awareness to the citizens they are working with.
senazadeh•1h ago
What it shows: a running estimate of global AI/data-center water use, a map of 30 real campuses (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, Apple, Alibaba) sized by estimated annual water draw, and a comparison chart against things like golf courses, fast fashion, and fossil fuel plants on a log scale.
Data sources: per-site figures are triangulated from sustainability reports, utility/permit filings, and known cooling tech + climate where companies don't disclose (most don't). The global baseline is anchored to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's 2024 Data Center Energy Usage Report, linked in the site's Methodology section.
Tools: React + D3.js for the map, all client-side, no backend.
Caveat I want to be upfront about: these are order-of-magnitude estimates, not audited numbers, happy to take corrections if anyone has better sourcing on specific sites!
https://www.thirstymachines.com/
Zie_Mordecai•56m ago