NerdCulture

DoomsdaysCW<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterShortage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WaterShortage</a> fears as Labour’s first <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AIGrowth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AIGrowth</a> zone sited close to new <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/reservoir" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#reservoir</a>First <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/datacentre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#datacentre</a> site proposed seven miles from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AbingdonReservoir" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbingdonReservoir</a> planned for water-stressed <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SouthEastEngland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SouthEastEngland</a>by Helena Horton Environment reporter Mon 13 Jan 2025"Labour’s first artificial intelligence growth zone will be sited close to the UK’s first new reservoir in 30 years, sparking fears that the AI push will add to the 'severe pressure' on water supplies in the area."Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he would hugely increase artificial intelligence capacity and reduce planning restrictions on companies that wanted to build datacentres by setting up '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GrowthZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#GrowthZones</a>' with fewer constraints [like <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExportProcessingZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ExportProcessingZones</a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FreeTradeZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FreeTradeZones</a>]. "The first of these will be in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulhamOxfordshire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CulhamOxfordshire</a>, only seven miles from a reservoir planned by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ThamesWater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ThamesWater</a> in Abingdon, which was supposed to provide water to people in the severely water-stressed south-east of England. This is the area of the country most at risk of running out of water, according to the Environment Agency. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oxfordshire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Oxfordshire</a> has faced particular issues, with areas reliant on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BottledWater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BottledWater</a> during <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#heatwaves</a>."AI datacentres use a large amount of water, as their servers generate heat. To prevent computer systems overheating and shutting down, the centres use cooling towers and outside air systems, both of which need clean, fresh water. AI consumes between 1.8 and 12 litres of water for each kilowatt hour of energy usage across Microsoft’s global datacentres. One study estimates that global AI could account for up to 6.6bn cubic metres of water use by 2027 – the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of England’s annual consumption."Even without a big increase in AI datacentres, by 2050, England faces a shortfall of nearly 5bn litres of water a day between the sustainable supplies available and the expected demand. This is more than a third of the 14bn litres of water currently put into public supply. The south-east faces a potential deficit of more than 2.5bn litres a day in the same period."AI could wipe out gains made by businesses in reducing their water consumption; the government is seeking a 9% reduction in non-household (business) consumption by 2037-38 from 2019-20 levels, and currently businesses are on course to achieve a reduction of 6.1%.Adrian Ramsay MP, Green Party co-leader, said: 'While communities will face <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#heatwaves</a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#droughts</a> and water shortages over the coming decades, this strategy locks us into pumping huge amounts of water into AI datacentres. One estimate said AI-related infrastructure may soon consume six times more water than Denmark, a country of 6 million people. What will this mean for residents in water-stressed communities like Culham in Oxfordshire?'"Read more:<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/13/labour-ai-datacentre-growth-zone-water-shortages-abingdon-reservoir" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/13/labour-ai-datacentre-growth-zone-water-shortages-abingdon-reservoir</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WaterIsLife</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DataCenters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DataCenters</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterShortages" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WaterShortages</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoWaterForData" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NoWaterForData</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoWaterForAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NoWaterForAI</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoNukesForAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NoNukesForAI</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigData" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BigData</a>

DoomsdaysCW<a href="https://kolektiva.social/@DamienMarieAtHope" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@DamienMarieAtHope</a> THIS! 💯 ! <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FreeTradeZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FreeTradeZones</a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExportProcessingZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ExportProcessingZones</a> are places where <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborLaws" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LaborLaws</a> don't exist, and are used by big corporations to increase profits!"In some situations, employees work excessive hours in unsafe conditions such as extreme heat, around faulty machinery, and in buildings that are not routinely inspected and maintained. "Although foreign investors, enterprises, and firms often earn a sizable amount and the global economy benefits, workers’ wages are typically low, often below that of the required country minimum wage. Most employees have to accept the previously mentioned working conditions as trade unions, and labor movements are not allowed. "Due to the competitive nature of EPZs, workers often cannot expect any improvement in conditions as operating costs are purposely kept low to attract investors. Because of the development and infrastructure EPZs bring, countries and governments often won’t step in either."<a href="https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/export-processing-zones/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/export-processing-zones/</a>"Also called foreign trade zones or export processing zones (EPZs), FTZs are “special commercial and industrial area…where foreign and domestic merchandise may be brought in without being subject to payment of customs duties.”[ii] Social protection for labor is ensured by both national and international legislation in Latin America; nonetheless, economic globalization inhibits worker rights across the region, particularly for vulnerable populations such as women, who are employed in FTZs.[iii] The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are approximately 500 FTZs in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, employing over 6 million workers. Women constitute 70 percent, and in some cases 90 percent, of workers in FTZs, and often perform labor-intensive tasks in sub-standard work conditions.[iv] While economic globalization and free trade enterprises themselves are not to blame for such abuses, there is an urgent need for governments, multi-national corporations, and international institutions to guarantee to hold one another accountable for the gross violations of worker rights occurring."<a href="https://coha.org/worker-rights-and-wrongs-fair-trade-zones-and-labor-in-the-americas/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://coha.org/worker-rights-and-wrongs-fair-trade-zones-and-labor-in-the-americas/</a><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HumanRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HumanRights</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateProfits" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CorporateProfits</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CorporateColonialism</a>

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