Environmental groups embrace AI, even as they warn of data center impacts
QQQ•Environmental groups are using AI to analyze climate data, track fires and count wildlife, while warning about data centers’ electricity use, water consumption and emissions. The International Energy Agency estimates data centers will use 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030, with water consumption rising to 1.2 trillion liters.
1. AI aids conservation work
Fifteen environmental, conservation and development organizations told Reuters they use AI and are concerned about the environmental impact of the data centers powering it. Conservation International uses AI to assess satellite-detected hotspots and send alerts about potential wildfires in Cambodia. Save the Elephants said AI can review wildlife survey images in hours, compared with nine people taking nine months to review about 200,000 images manually.
2. Data center demands
Researchers at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health estimate the global data-center footprint could more than double by 2030. The International Energy Agency estimates annual electricity consumption will reach 945 terawatt-hours by then, while water consumption is projected to rise from about 560 billion liters in 2023 to 1.2 trillion liters.
3. Efforts to limit impact
Some groups are trying to reduce AI’s resource demands. The World Resources Institute limits resource-intensive applications and caches query results, while The Nature Conservancy processes video aboard fishing vessels instead of uploading it to centralized data centers. Greenpeace International said it uses some AI tools but is pushing back against data-center construction.
