If only there was a way to produce energy without massive emissions like nuclear or wind maybe.
at least meta’s starting to use nuclear power now
Why is the focus being put on data centres and not the fact that we should have a decarbonized grid by now? They contribute a grand total of 0 kg of carbon if our electricity generation was carbonless to begin with.
The cement plants need your plastics for fuel.
No… Only if the government keeps stopping unbanning nuclear power. This cartoon looks ill informed
*Emissions from data centres – r/Ireland: “I sleep”
*Emissions from agricultural activities – r/Ireland: “Real shit?!”
Same with taxes.
Data centers are necessary in the modern world. The electricity they use is getting cleaner and we should push to keep making it cleaner and get to the point where they are zero emission . And sure, it’d be nice if we could ban some extremely wasteful practices such as cryptocurrency, but we’re never going to shut down the entire internet so data centers will continue to exist.
Recycling is something we should all be doing regardless rather than dumping plastic everywhere. These two completely independent things are not contradictory.
Is there anything stopping Microsoft or meta or any of the big companies from building a nuclear plant here? (Like they’re talking about doing in America)
All the people complaining about nuclear for Ireland because it’s “too expensive” should support these companies doing it because they can afford it and it’d mean we dont need to provide electricity for them
I mean if you really wanted to make a point about individual actions having little effect compared to large orgs you should have cows there instead of DC’s.
Weird focus on data centres.
They don’t directly pollute, they require considerable energy which comes from a mix of energy sources including polluting types.
Similar to the greenwashing campaign of the Luas being “green”. It doesn’t have emissions but the grid it relies on, does.
A bigger and better example is aircrafts that directly pollute and have a considerably worse impact on the environment. We’re far away from battery powered planes as well. It’s not there yet
Data centres should be required to cover % of their energy needs via green energy. Many around the world do have solar panels but they never cover their full requirements. A lot can be said about the advancements in more energy efficient tech stacks but there’s no magic wand to this and varies greatly from the silicon and the code.
AI is also a massive power use compared to a typical web search. So it’s contributing greatly to the energy requirements of data centres.
Banning data centres without decarbonisation of the grid and regulation on data centre infrastructure isn’t going to change anything alone, so the point is moot.
And for some fucking reason I am out of pocket if I recycle cans and bottles in my bin too. Ridiculous…
It wouldn’t surprise me if in 5-10 years data centers will need protection from random people attacking. Be it power usage Vs public or just AI taking people’s jobs.
This is the problem. All these big companies and all the governments around the world have made it an average citizen problem.
We have to watch how we drive, what we throw out, how much we boil the kettle, use paper fucking straws etc but none of the companies or countries, the ones telling us we need to do this, the ones who actually make the pollution… have to follow the rules.
It’s the same old story. It extends to taxes etc. The government and all the billionaires telling us that the economy is bad so we need to tighten our belts and pay more in tax on our already massively outdated wages… meanwhile none of the people who are hoarding the wealth or fucking up the economy are having to pay anything towards it.
Oh Fuck off
Yes, data centres consume significant power — especially with the rise of AI workloads — but they don’t generate emissions themselves. That responsibility lies primarily with how electricity is produced, not how it’s consumed.
Electricity companies, not tech companies, determine how clean the energy mix is. So if your grid is still running on fossil fuels, that’s on energy policy and providers — not on the end users.
Modern data centres are increasingly hyper-efficient and often rely on renewables or carbon offsets. Some of the largest tech companies are actually leading the transition to clean energy by signing massive Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
In many regions, data centres recycle waste heat to warm schools, housing estates, or public infrastructure. They optimize power use, and in some countries, they’re even integrated into national energy grids to absorb surplus renewable energy that would otherwise go to waste.
So instead of an illustration that shows data centres lighting coal furnaces, a more accurate one would show energy utilities and regulators as the true gatekeepers of emissions.
Focus should be on grid decarbonization and energy efficiency — not clickbait cartoons that blame the symptoms, not the system
What has recycling got to do with energy use? They’re two different issues. Holding corporations accountable is good. Using them as an excuse to change nothing about our own lifestyles is lazy.
“You got the chinese bellowing out shit from coal fired power stations, the Americans are driving about in 4×4 Humvees, Las Vegas is lit up like a giant christmas tree every night, but they reckon if I switch off that little standby button on my TV……”
A tired trope OP. Try a bit harder.
Yes anyone who thinks recycling is making any difference is a chump
that’s the data steam
Really depends on what the data center is being used for. Like, if AWS didn’t exist then the companies that use it would just run their own hardware, the energy consumption remains more or less the same.
Generative AI bullshit however is always a waste.
Some people really just can’t cope with recycling huh?
All the crazy shit governments have done to their people over the years and the one that they really can’t handle, the one they use to get people into a frenzy to vote against their own best interests and so let governments do even worse shit to them is different bins.
I really don’t get it.
The irony of complaining about data centres on the internet
Environmentalism is definitely not a class war.
Btw you own to many clothes for just one pleb. We will have to fix that using the law.
![Data Centres [oc]](https://www.europesays.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/md3q7t68a35f1-1920x1024.jpeg)
26 comments
But yet you store all your data in the cloud.
If only there was a way to produce energy without massive emissions like nuclear or wind maybe.
at least meta’s starting to use nuclear power now
Why is the focus being put on data centres and not the fact that we should have a decarbonized grid by now? They contribute a grand total of 0 kg of carbon if our electricity generation was carbonless to begin with.
The cement plants need your plastics for fuel.
No… Only if the government keeps stopping unbanning nuclear power. This cartoon looks ill informed
*Emissions from data centres – r/Ireland: “I sleep”
*Emissions from agricultural activities – r/Ireland: “Real shit?!”
Same with taxes.
Data centers are necessary in the modern world. The electricity they use is getting cleaner and we should push to keep making it cleaner and get to the point where they are zero emission . And sure, it’d be nice if we could ban some extremely wasteful practices such as cryptocurrency, but we’re never going to shut down the entire internet so data centers will continue to exist.
Recycling is something we should all be doing regardless rather than dumping plastic everywhere. These two completely independent things are not contradictory.
Is there anything stopping Microsoft or meta or any of the big companies from building a nuclear plant here? (Like they’re talking about doing in America)
All the people complaining about nuclear for Ireland because it’s “too expensive” should support these companies doing it because they can afford it and it’d mean we dont need to provide electricity for them
I mean if you really wanted to make a point about individual actions having little effect compared to large orgs you should have cows there instead of DC’s.
Weird focus on data centres.
They don’t directly pollute, they require considerable energy which comes from a mix of energy sources including polluting types.
Similar to the greenwashing campaign of the Luas being “green”. It doesn’t have emissions but the grid it relies on, does.
A bigger and better example is aircrafts that directly pollute and have a considerably worse impact on the environment. We’re far away from battery powered planes as well. It’s not there yet
Data centres should be required to cover % of their energy needs via green energy. Many around the world do have solar panels but they never cover their full requirements. A lot can be said about the advancements in more energy efficient tech stacks but there’s no magic wand to this and varies greatly from the silicon and the code.
AI is also a massive power use compared to a typical web search. So it’s contributing greatly to the energy requirements of data centres.
Banning data centres without decarbonisation of the grid and regulation on data centre infrastructure isn’t going to change anything alone, so the point is moot.
And for some fucking reason I am out of pocket if I recycle cans and bottles in my bin too. Ridiculous…
It wouldn’t surprise me if in 5-10 years data centers will need protection from random people attacking. Be it power usage Vs public or just AI taking people’s jobs.
This is the problem. All these big companies and all the governments around the world have made it an average citizen problem.
We have to watch how we drive, what we throw out, how much we boil the kettle, use paper fucking straws etc but none of the companies or countries, the ones telling us we need to do this, the ones who actually make the pollution… have to follow the rules.
It’s the same old story. It extends to taxes etc. The government and all the billionaires telling us that the economy is bad so we need to tighten our belts and pay more in tax on our already massively outdated wages… meanwhile none of the people who are hoarding the wealth or fucking up the economy are having to pay anything towards it.
Oh Fuck off
Yes, data centres consume significant power — especially with the rise of AI workloads — but they don’t generate emissions themselves. That responsibility lies primarily with how electricity is produced, not how it’s consumed.
Electricity companies, not tech companies, determine how clean the energy mix is. So if your grid is still running on fossil fuels, that’s on energy policy and providers — not on the end users.
Modern data centres are increasingly hyper-efficient and often rely on renewables or carbon offsets. Some of the largest tech companies are actually leading the transition to clean energy by signing massive Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
In many regions, data centres recycle waste heat to warm schools, housing estates, or public infrastructure. They optimize power use, and in some countries, they’re even integrated into national energy grids to absorb surplus renewable energy that would otherwise go to waste.
So instead of an illustration that shows data centres lighting coal furnaces, a more accurate one would show energy utilities and regulators as the true gatekeepers of emissions.
Focus should be on grid decarbonization and energy efficiency — not clickbait cartoons that blame the symptoms, not the system
What has recycling got to do with energy use? They’re two different issues. Holding corporations accountable is good. Using them as an excuse to change nothing about our own lifestyles is lazy.
More guff on [insta](https://www.instagram.com/infiniteguff/) and [bsky](https://bsky.app/profile/infiniteguff.com).
LOL
Lee Evans the comedian said it best
“You got the chinese bellowing out shit from coal fired power stations, the Americans are driving about in 4×4 Humvees, Las Vegas is lit up like a giant christmas tree every night, but they reckon if I switch off that little standby button on my TV……”
A tired trope OP. Try a bit harder.
Yes anyone who thinks recycling is making any difference is a chump
that’s the data steam
Really depends on what the data center is being used for. Like, if AWS didn’t exist then the companies that use it would just run their own hardware, the energy consumption remains more or less the same.
Generative AI bullshit however is always a waste.
Some people really just can’t cope with recycling huh?
All the crazy shit governments have done to their people over the years and the one that they really can’t handle, the one they use to get people into a frenzy to vote against their own best interests and so let governments do even worse shit to them is different bins.
I really don’t get it.
The irony of complaining about data centres on the internet
Environmentalism is definitely not a class war.
Btw you own to many clothes for just one pleb. We will have to fix that using the law.
Comments are closed.