News Summary

• AI companies are building massive data centers near major gas-production sites, often generating their own power by tapping directly into fossil fuels.
• It's a surprising twist for an industry that, even during its early 2010s boom years, was blamed by climate advocates for poisoned water tables, man-made earthquakes, and the stubborn persistence of fossil fuel.
• In drought-prone West Texas, locals are particularly nervous about how new data centers will impact the water supply.
• In Richland Parish, the poorest region of Louisiana, the company plans to build a $10 billion data center the size of 1,700 football fields that will require two gigawatts of power for computation alone.