#environmentaldegradation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #environmentaldegradation, aggregated by home.social.
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The #EnvironmentalCost of #ArtificialIntelligence: #Carbon, #Water, and #LandFootprints
#AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.
Date Published 3 Jun 2026
UNU-INWEH Report: Aczel, M., Chamanara, S., Matin, M., Farsi, A., Marwala, T., Madani, K. (2026).
"This report, Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints, by the #UnitedNationsUniversity Institute for Water, Environment and Health ( #UNU - #INWEH ) on its 30th anniversary, examines one of the most underexplored consequences of AI’s rapid expansion: the environmental footprints of the energy required to power it. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in economies, public services, research, communication, and everyday life, it depends on a growing physical infrastructure of #datacenters, advanced #chips, #CoolingSystems, #ElectricityGrids, #WaterResources, land, and #CriticalMineral supply chains. The report shows that AI is not only a digital technology, but also a material system with measurable #EnvironmentalCosts.
"The report moves beyond a carbon-only lens by quantifying the carbon, water, and land footprints associated with the electricity used to train, deploy, and operate AI systems at scale. Its central finding is that AI’s environmental costs depend not only on how much electricity is used, but also on where that electricity is generated and which energy sources power it. Every kilowatt-hour used by AI carries carbon, water, and land implications, and these footprints do not always move in the same direction: low-carbon electricity is not automatically low-water or low-land. The report also shows that AI’s footprint is shaped by both major infrastructure trends, including the rapid growth of data centers, and everyday use patterns, including model choice, output length, modality, and the growing use of text, image, and video generation.
"Importantly, the report frames AI’s environmental footprint as a governance and justice challenge, not only a technical problem. The benefits of AI often flow across borders and sectors, while the environmental burdens of data center siting, electricity demand, water withdrawals, #LandUse, MineralExtraction, and #EWaste can be concentrated in specific communities and regions. To address these risks, the report calls for a responsible AI ecosystem grounded in transparency, efficiency by design, equity and #EnvironmentalJustice, lifecycle responsibility, global cooperation, and sustainable use. By making AI’s carbon, water, and land footprints visible and comparable, the report provides a practical basis for integrating AI into energy, climate, water, and land-use planning, ensuring that innovation advances without shifting environmental costs onto vulnerable communities."
Download PDF:
https://unu.edu/inweh/collection/environmental-cost-of-AIs-Enrgy-Use-Carbon-water-and-land-footprints#AIBoom #Electricity #Hyperscale #BigTech #BigData #CarbonFootprint #EnvironmentalRacism #EnvironmentalDegradation #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #AIAgents #BotTraffic #GreenSpaces #Farmland #Prairies #Woodland #TechGiants #ProtectNature #NoDatacenters #EnergyConsumption #USPol #WorldPol #Datacentres
#DatacenterMoratoriums -
And lastly, #PointNemo (which I did NOT know about... WTF!)
"Point Nemo is also known as “the oceanic pole of inaccessibility” for being the point in any ocean farthest from land. It serves as a "spacecraft cemetery" for space infrastructure and vessels.
The human-environment interactions that lie at the heart of environmental justice, including sacrifice zones, have been proposed to also include the environmental sacrifice of regions beyond Earth.[36] Klinger states that "the environmental geopolitics of Earth and outer space are inextricably linked by the spatial politics of privilege and sacrifice – among people, places and institutions".[36] Dunnett has called outer space the 'ultimate sacrifice zone' that exemplifies a colonially framed pursuit of infinite opportunities for accumulation, exploitation, and pollution. This manifests in both terrestrial and space-based sacrifice zones related to launch infrastructure, waste, and orbital debris.[37]
Point Nemo is an oceanic point of inaccessibility located inside the South Pacific Gyre. It is selected as the most remote location in the world and serves as a "spacecraft cemetery" for space infrastructure and vessels.[38] Since 1971, 273 spacecraft and satellites have been directed to Point Nemo; this number includes the Mir Space Station (142 tonnes) and will include the International Space Station (240 tonnes). "
Related article: Are We Trashing Earth’s Loneliest Spot?
Bob Grant
Tue, November 4, 2025https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trashing-earth-loneliest-spot-210000394.html
#SpaceIndustry #Satellites #DarkSkies #Starlink #SacrificeZones #SpaceJunk #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificeZones #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism #InALonelyPlace #TheMoonAndAnarctica -
#Wikipedia - #Venezuela
#Pollution at #MaracaiboLake"#LakeMaracaibo in the state of #Zulia is one of the most important bodies of water in the western region of Venezuela. This lake was also the site of one of the worst environmental catastrophes in Venezuela's history: the #BarrosoII blowout in 1922; an oil well that began spewing huge quantities of oil for 9 days, spilling around 900,000 barrels in the area. This oil disaster, paradoxically, became a milestone for the abundance of the oil industry in the country.
"Erick Camargo indicates that oil spills generated by the lack of maintenance of the complex network of oil infrastructure continue to be a constant and are the main cause of contamination in the lake. However, he also indicates that the use of #agrochemicals on nearby crops and the discharge of #sewage worsen the situation.
"A 2022 scientific paper reveals the presence of multiple #toxic elements in surface sediments in different parts of the lake. This constitutes a high risk for the flora and fauna of the region, as well as for the health of the human communities living in the areas where the samples were taken. Another study in 2007 revealed the presence of #ToxicMetals in part of the subway aquifers connected to the lake basin; the samples taken had values well above the limits allowed for #DrinkingWater according to national and international regulations."
Related article:
https://apnews.com/article/lake-maracaibo-venezuela-pollution-fishermen-ca80fea76eece2e733285d44b8dbdd80#Venezuela #BigOil #BigOilAndGas #SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
#Wikipedia - #UnitedStates
See also: #Superfund"Perhaps the best-known sacrifice zone in the United States is '#CancerAlley' in #Louisiana, an 85-mile stretch of land along the #MississippiRiver containing over 200 #petrochemical plants. Serious air and water quality violations have been documented since the 1970s, and elevated #cancer risk has been found. The region's population is disproportionately #Black and #LowIncome.
"Commentators including Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco, Robert Bullard and Stephen Lerner have argued that #corporate business practices contribute to producing #SacrificeZones and that these zones most commonly exist in low-income and minority, usually #AfricanAmerican communities. Sacrifice zones are a central topic for the graphic novel #DaysOfDestructionDaysOfRevolt, written by Hedges and illustrated by Sacco.
"In 2012, Hedges stated that examples of sacrifice zones included #PineRidge, South Dakota and #CamdenNJ. In 2017 a #WestCalumet public housing project in East Chicago, Indiana built at the former site of a lead smelter needed to be demolished and soil replaced to bring the area up to residential standards, displacing 1000 residents. In 2014, Naomi Klein wrote that 'running an economy on energy sources that release poisons as an unavoidable part of their extraction and refining has always required sacrifice zones."
Related link:
The Spread of Sacrifice Zones
By David Swanson, June, 2012
https://cdn.countercurrents.org/swanson090612.htm#BigOil #BigOilAndGas #SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
"The #EndhóDam, often referred to as the 'largest septic tank in Latin America' is a heavily polluted body of water that was built in the 1950s to supply irrigation water to the #MezquitalValley region of the State of Hidalgo and today receives about 70% of #MexicoCity's sewage effluent. The river that feeds the dam is also a major repository for industrial waste from an oil refinery, two large cement factories, and several industrial parks in the region. These sources of pollution have spread to nearby springs affecting people, animals and crops. Journalist Carlos Carabaña indicates that since 2007, the National Water Commission has issued reports to municipal and state authorities repeatedly informing them of the presence of high levels of heavy metals in the nearby wells, urging the authorities to take action because of the potential health risks posed by the dam. Other effects related to contamination from the dam include damage to crops in the communities neighboring the dam, poisoning of livestock, and stigmatization of agricultural products from the Mezquital Valley region."
Related article - The sewage water from Mexico City, one of the biggest cities in the world, is directly discharged to surface water bodies and conducted several kilometers through an area known as the Mezquital Valley. The socioeconomic context has been rigged by the sewage water, providing benefits for some and affecting others.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b8c29785517144349619d500f0c99a9d
#SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
"The Chilean port of #Quintero and adjacent #Puchuncaví have been pointed out as a #SacrificeZone. The zone hosts the #coal-fired #Ventanas Power Plant, an #OilRefinery, a #cement storage, #FundiciónVentanas, a #CopperSmelter and refinery, a lubricant factory and a chemical terminal. In total 15 polluting companies operate in the area. In 2011, #EscuelaLaGreda located in #Puchuncaví, was engulfed in a #ChemicalCloud from the #VentanasIndustrialComplex. The #SulfurCloud poisoned an estimated 33 children and 9 teachers, resulting in the relocation of the school. The old location of the school is now abandoned. In August and September 2018 there was a public health crisis in Quintero and Puchuncaví, where over 300 people experienced illness from toxic substances in the air, coming from the polluting industries."
Related article from 2023: Chile closes state copper smelter that polluted bay for decades
https://apnews.com/article/ventanas-copper-chile-pollution-quintero-8a53aa725a7110f34a57e17481573a51
#SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #AirIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
#Wikipedia - Case Study - #Argentina
"#VillaInflamable neighborhood is located in the city of #DockSud and is part of the Greater #BuenosAires Metropolitan Area. The community is situated at the center of a #petrochemical development area, where 44 hydrocarbon companies are currently operating. These same companies are mainly responsible for turning the #RiachueloMatanza basin into one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world.
"Reports from Argentinian and foreign public agencies have confirmed the presence of lead, chromium, benzene and other hazardous chemicals in the water supplies of the neighborhood, in amounts far in excess of what is allowed by international regulations. Journalistic and academic research has collected multiple testimonies of serious health diagnoses commonly associated with the presence of these contaminants. Likewise the book Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown explores the effects of toxicity in the daily lives of the residents of the Inflammable neighborhood, referring to multiple diagnoses of lead poisoning among the inhabitants of Inflammable, especially among children."
Follow-up... #Argentina Abandons #ToxicRiver, Leaving Residents to Face the Fallout
With cleanup halted and drains unfinished, Villa Inflamable residents face rising water and rising illness. Many have nowhere else to go.
#SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #Mining #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
Definition: "A #SacrificeZone or sacrifice area is a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by environmental damage or economic disinvestment.
Another definition states that sacrifice zones are places damaged through locally unwanted land use causing "chemical pollution where residents live immediately adjacent to heavily polluted industries or military bases."
For Ryan Juskus, sacrifice zones are "geographical areas that bore a disproportionate amount of #IndustrialPollution, toxic chemical exposure, or other #Environmental harms associated with industry or national security" (p. 11). Another important aspect of this definition is that the existence of Sacrifice Zones involves the presence of Abundance Zones. In other words, the disproportionate environmental damage that some communities receive is directly related to maintaining privileges and lifestyles in other geographies. Another important aspect of sacrifice zones is that they are often located in #LowIncome communities with a large presence of ethnic or religious minorities which benefits majority groups."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_zone
#SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificeZones #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #Industries
#IndustrialUse #Mining #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism -
#SEZs in #India: Balancing Economic Growth and #Environmental Concerns
July 27, 2024
"Picture this: vast stretches of industrial land buzzing with activity, modern factories producing goods for global markets, and thousands of job opportunities emerging overnight. This is the promise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India. But behind this gleaming facade lies a complex web of environmental challenges and social concerns that demand our attention. SEZs represent one of India’s most ambitious economic policies, designed to accelerate industrial growth and boost exports, yet they often come at a significant cost to the environment and local communities.
[...]
"[T]he rapid expansion of SEZs has raised significant environmental red flags. The most pressing concern is land acquisition, which often involves converting fertile agricultural land into industrial zones. This conversion not only reduces the country’s agricultural capacity but also disrupts local ecosystems and biodiversity.
"The establishment of SEZs typically requires large tracts of land – sometimes spanning thousands of acres. Much of this land is acquired from agricultural areas, leading to the displacement of farming communities who have depended on these lands for generations. For instance, the proposed #RaigadSEZ in #Maharashtra would have required over 14,000 hectares of #agricultural land, leading to massive #protests from local farmers.
"The conversion of agricultural land to #IndustrialUse has long-term implications for #FoodSecurity. As India’s population continues to grow, the loss of productive #farmland could exacerbate food shortage issues in the future. Moreover, agricultural land often has better soil quality and water retention capacity compared to industrial land, making this conversion environmentally costly.
"Industrial activities within SEZs generate various forms of #pollution. Air pollution from #manufacturing processes, water #contamination from industrial effluents, and #SoilDegradation from chemical usage are common problems. The concentration of industries in SEZs can create pollution hotspots that affect air and water quality in surrounding areas.
"#WaterScarcity is another critical issue. SEZs require substantial water resources for industrial processes, often competing with local communities for this precious resource. In water-stressed regions, this competition can lead to conflicts and further environmental degradation.
Human rights and social displacement"The human cost of SEZ development cannot be overlooked. Land acquisition for SEZs often involves displacing local communities, particularly small farmers and agricultural workers. These communities frequently receive inadequate compensation and struggle to find alternative livelihoods.
"The displacement process can be traumatic for local communities who have strong cultural and emotional ties to their land. Traditional occupations like #farming, #fishing, and #SmallScaleTrading are disrupted, forcing people to adapt to entirely new economic realities. The promised employment opportunities in SEZs often don’t materialize for displaced communities, as they may lack the required skills for industrial jobs.
"Women in these communities face particular challenges, as they often have limited access to alternative employment opportunities and may lose traditional income sources like kitchen gardening or small-scale agricultural activities. The social fabric of rural communities can be severely disrupted, leading to increased poverty and social inequality."
#HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
#IMFLoanSharks #Exploitation #WorldBank #RaceToTheBottom
#HumanRightsViolations
#Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation
#EconomicSacrificZones
#ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #TraditionalLifestyles #EnvironmentalRacism #Exploitation
#CorporateColonialism