Study: Data centers’ environmental impact rising, thanks to AI

A new study from UC Riverside researchers found that the power usage, carbon emissions, water consumption, and pollution-related health costs of data centers in California have surged in recent years, largely due to the growth of artificial intelligence development and computing. The Bay Area, including San Francisco and Silicon Valley, has been a hub for this AI activity, with companies like Meta, Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Anthropic operating data centers and facilities in the region.