Study: Data centers’ environmental impact rising, thanks to AI
News ClipSan Francisco Examiner·San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA·11/23/2025
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.
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Data centers in California are consuming an increasing amount of power, leading to rising environmental and health impacts. Power usage at these facilities nearly doubled from 2019 to 2023 and could more than double by 2028, according to a UC Riverside study. This has resulted in surging carbon emissions and water consumption, as well as tripled pollution-related health costs from 2019 to 2023. The report highlights the rapid growth of the data center industry, driven largely by the boom in artificial intelligence development in the San Francisco Bay Area. While the economic benefits have been substantial, the environmental toll is also significant and expected to continue escalating.