Politics

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Gas Buddy screen shot this morning for diesel fuel, 269.9c a litre is painful.View attachment 793358View attachment 793360

2.79 here in n.s. Currently

 

[Boyd Brooks]

2.79 here in n.s. Currently

Ouch!

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Ouch!

Hopefully it comes down before fishing starts we burn 17-18 gallons an hour with the tide and 22-23 bucking the tide.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

Hopefully it comes down before fishing starts we burn 17-18 gallons an hour with the tide and 22-23 bucking the tide.

I’m sure that’s why a lobster roll has almost doubled in price since my last visit in 2021. I am definitely happy that my wife refused to have a smelly diesel truck in the yard! My Arizona vehicle is a 2009 diesel Jetta that she doesn’t like much either but at 30+ mpg she tolerates it.

 

[Brent in Az]

Looks like Trump made a deal with Greenland and Denmark

 

[Brent in Az]

Just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Pretty soon they will be hacking into every aspect of our lives.
Exponentially more then they already do.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gemini-google-ai/2026/09/18/id/1269952/

 

[Newboomer]

2.79 here in n.s. Currently

$6.52 a gal here in northern NV.

 

[deewayne2003]

So, apparently some creature at the University of Utah presented the college republicans with a cake that said…

“Happy Kirkaversery!”

Then stood around and posed for pictures at the request of the president of the College republicans, an attractive blonde lady named Rylie.

Rylie posted this creatures picture on X holding a cake stating..
“Don’t celebrate Murder”

Riley was promptly brought up on charges by the University policy, this resulted in public backlash to the point where people posted the offensive cake makers CEO fathers name and company phone number online…..

Only after public backlash did the university drop their policy charges against the university republicans and several of the socialist students are being held to task for their online threats.

 

[Tanks]

Regarding the backlash against data centers due to water usage. The hypocrisy is astounding. The picture below is from my backyard which is against a golf course. Multiple water cannons go off several times a day to water the greens. The amount of water usage in gold courses is multiple orders of magnitude than the usage of data centers. I don't see people protesting golf courses.

 

[Brent in Az]

Regarding the backlash against data centers due to water usage. The hypocrisy is astounding. The picture below is from my backyard which is against a golf course. Multiple water cannons go off several times a day to water the greens. The amount of water usage in gold courses is multiple orders of magnitude than the usage of data centers. I don't see people protesting golf courses.

View attachment 793450

Well ....golf courses aren't going to destroy humanity......lol.....so there's that.

A large golf course will use approx 100 million gallons per year
A large scale AI type data center can use up to 1.8 billion gallons per year.

Both California and Arizona need to get serious about water conservation.
Much of our water comes from the same source, and Lake Powell is getting extremely low. More so in drought years.

 

[spike.t]

Houthis claim attack on Riyadh after fire near airport

The King Khalid International Airport incident caused hours of flight disruptions and comes amid an escalating conflict with Houthi rebels in Yemen.

www.bbc.com

 

[steve white]

I wonder if Las Vegas uses as much water as a data center. In the future some priority decisions will doubtless have to be made. I say cactus farm Vegas.

 

[deewayne2003]

Regarding the backlash against data centers due to water usage. The hypocrisy is astounding. The picture below is from my backyard which is against a golf course. Multiple water cannons go off several times a day to water the greens. The amount of water usage in gold courses is multiple orders of magnitude than the usage of data centers. I don't see people protesting golf courses.

View attachment 793450

Yep, those cannon nozzles is daylight lose 50% evaporation minimum; should be watering at night and don’t get me started on the pollution quagmire that are the water hazards.

In Oklahoma a bitcoin mining operation that turned out to be un permitted and owned by a man in Palo Alto California has leaked more than 4mil gallons of water and lowered the entire towns water pressure until it was finally cut off.

 

[Tanks]

A large golf course will use approx 100 million gallons per year
A large scale AI type data center can use up to 1.8 billion gallons per year.

Except there are 16,000 golf courses in the USA. Death by a thousand cuts.

Here is an article that focuses on facts.

https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/i-kept-hearing-that-ai-data-centers-are-draining-towns-dry-so-i-looked-at-the-evidence?utm_source=google&utm_medium=h5d&utm_campaign=h_tg_00265&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22446790454&gbraid=0AAAAAqzfqMZ9Tk5NQ8cGLT6t_dIXFvA-p&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5bjVBhCiARIsAJzMVnQB-WnvdHIK48gbHPOLRaaDlgP5hoCAHW-q-Ddo7DhJx43P1CZDbfoaAqxAEALw_wcB

 

[Alistair]

Regarding the backlash against data centers due to water usage. The hypocrisy is astounding. The picture below is from my backyard which is against a golf course. Multiple water cannons go off several times a day to water the greens. The amount of water usage in gold courses is multiple orders of magnitude than the usage of data centers. I don't see people protesting golf courses.

View attachment 793450

Some numbers on this.

There are approx 16,000 golf courses in the US, which collectively consume approx 540 billion gallons of water per year for irrigation. So 34 million gallons per year each.

https://www.gcsaa.org/who-we-are/media/news-release/2025-news-releases/2025/12/30/golf-courses-reduce-water-usage-by-31-percent-according-to-national-survey

Data centers used about 250bn gallons in 2023, and are projected to hit 500 billion gallons per year by 2028, with upper estimates closer to 800 billion gallons per year. Or course, only about 20-30% of that is currently AI related, although it's of course the overwhelming majority of the projected growth.

How much water does AI really use?

The heaviest demand on America's water isn't data centers or AI. It's from everyday uses such as growing food, watering lawns and flushing toilets.

www.cbsnews.com

So no, golf course aren't 'orders of magnitude more'.

In 2023, Golf courses used about 2x what all data centers did (the AI share accounting for about 1/16th of what golf courses use).

By 2028, golf courses will be about equivalent to all data centers for all uses (the AI share accounting for about 50% of it). Or if we take the higher estimate, all data centers for all uses will be about 1.5x golf course use (with AI alone being roughly equivalent).

So in simpler terms, the AI roll out will use about as much water as building another 8,000 - 16,000 golf courses. Or to put it in a different perspective, about twice the current consumption of the entirety of the state of Nevada.

Colorado River 2036 Plan: Las Vegas Water and Home Values 2026

Nevada loses 50,000 acre-feet in 2027-2028 under the post-2026 Colorado River rules. Lake Mead at 1,038 feet, return-flow credits, AB356 and a buyer checklist.

www.nevadarealestategroup.com

For whatever my opinion is worth:

Building either AI data centers OR golf courses in parts of the country that are:
a. Under drought warnings regularly
b. Reliant on the Colorado river which is already over utilized
c. In a freaking desert

is frankly stupid. Set them up in the upper midwest, or the north east, or in bits of the South where there's plenty of water. If you really must build them in the Western US, then water efficiency and reclamation should be pretty much the #1 priority when approving them. I hardly think that's a particularly controversial opinion...

Colorado River 2036 Plan: Las Vegas Water and Home Values 2026

Nevada loses 50,000 acre-feet in 2027-2028 under the post-2026 Colorado River rules. Lake Mead at 1,038 feet, return-flow credits, AB356 and a buyer checklist.

www.nevadarealestategroup.com

(No source for the freaking desert thing, I think that's blindingly obvious).

Of course the most pointless and wasteful thing the US does with water is watering residential lawns. Phoenix and a couple other cities really feeling the pinch are trying to sort that one out with xeriscaping initiatives, but I hardly think that's an issue we'll solve any time soon.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

A quick google search says there are roughly 500,000 abandoned mines in the u.s., couldn’t abandoned mine tunnels be used to house the servers? The geothermal properties of being underground should help to with cooling?

 

[Alistair]

A quick google search says there are roughly 500,000 abandoned mines in the u.s., couldn’t abandoned mine tunnels be used to house the servers? The geothermal properties of being underground should help to with cooling?

In theory, maybe? In reality, that seems hopelessly expensive and complicated. It might help with cooling, it might not, depends how deep the mines are.

It's a safer bet to just stick em in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine, etc, take advantage of the lower ambient temperatures and the readily available water resource.

Microsoft just built one of their data centers about 30 miles north of where I am. I don't love the slightly higher electricity bill I got as a consequence, but honestly, if you're gonna build them anywhere in the US, my location is pretty much optimal, so I'm not going to kick up too much of a fuss.

If I lived in Phoenix or Las Vegas though? You bet I'd be pissed.

 

[fourfive8]

Well ....golf courses aren't going to destroy humanity......lol.....so there's that.

A large golf course will use approx 100 million gallons per year
A large scale AI type data center can use up to 1.8 billion gallons per year.

Both California and Arizona need to get serious about water conservation.
Much of our water comes from the same source, and Lake Powell is getting extremely low. More so in drought years.

The hypocrisy is indeed astounding when someone living on a golf course complains about the water it uses. Suggestion for those with that complaint…. demand leveling that golf course in your backyard and support building an AI data center in its place… putting that water to “proper” use. Likewise demand the neighborhood pay higher electricity rates to make up the difference in power market supply/demand between the golf course and the data center. Good idea Tanks? …. what… No? The hypocrisy is astounding isn’t it.

 

[coreydb]

As of this morning, regular gas is now $4.13-$4.35 a gallon in St Augustine FL. Trump thinks he can make a deal with the Iranians, but he ultimately allows them to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz and expand their havoc to neighboring Arab countries. News Flash!!!! The Iranians are stringing this administration along, with the intent to outlast Trump, hoping the Democrats will be voted in to power at the next national election. They don't make deals. The regime must be destroyed with all their distorted ideologic fanatics. The Iranian citizens will never be strong enough to over through the regime. Sadly, this is just a pipe dream because the regime's total destruction will never occur. I do not care who disagrees with me, so to those who think I'm off my rocker, just save your breath and your comments. It's just of waste of time with me.

 

[Flipper Dude]

It’s not that I disagree with you, it’s just that the “breath and comments” are what makes this an interesting thread.

One doesn’t simply get to show up and make a statement and then declare that it is off limits for debate. ( I learned this from my wife.)