this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2026
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Henrico County is a major hub for data centers in Virginia. Its officials said it expects a 25% rise in electricity costs next year, and advised workers to close the blinds and turn off their computers to make up for it.

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[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 3 points 43 minutes ago

Killdozer needs to come back...

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 14 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Please sir...can I have some more....electricity

said the poor school to the billionaires

[–] kadotux@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

How does closing the blinds conserve electricity? O_o

[–] umfk@lemmy.world 18 points 3 hours ago (1 children)
[–] kadotux@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Oh that's right, y'all got AC back there. I forgor.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

I know Europe is scant on AC in general, but you guys really don't even use it in schools? That seems wild to me.

[–] kadotux@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

In southern Europe, yes. In northern Europe, generally no need for AC. Remember that Europe is not one country.

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

No AC in schools. School is out in the summer in general.

[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 hour ago

May June and September don't have the capability to have hot days in Europe? In 2010 only the newer part of my highschool had AC, but now I believe the whole building does.

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Most buildings don't have them. Why would schools be any different? Our secondary school was culturally protected so even if they wanted to install one they probably could not. And the only time heat was an issue was during covid when we got assigned the attic classroom. All the other rooms were alright.

[–] pdxfed@lemmy.world 61 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

California: 80% of water use is agricultural and industrial but who do they lean on in drought years? Jimmy fucking John and minute showers. Corporations will not budge without force so state goes after the soft target.

Same play here.

[–] jumjummy@lemmy.world 32 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

California also has the stupidest water rights with “use it or lose” it clauses that counters any incentives to become more efficient. A couple families control a ridiculous amount of water rights.

[–] Itizaj@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The problem is that data centers don't need water, they need cooling, and water is suitable for that because it's the cheapest. They could do the cooling in many other ways, but it costs money

[–] mig@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

The other ways cost money, make noise, and consume more power.

[–] TrippingBalls@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

That's typically how the government operates as well. No incentive to use funding wisely and decrease spending

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 102 points 19 hours ago
[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 44 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

So it's official now. AI comes before schools, and before children. Welp. So much for thinking about the children.

Get your passport while you still can

[–] amgine@lemmy.world 26 points 16 hours ago (4 children)

The children only matter in election cycles

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

And on their private islands

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 2 points 1 hour ago

And when it comes to starting moral panics to strip away rights.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 10 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

The perception that children matter only exists in election cycles.

They never really matter.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago

and before they're born.

[–] chahn.chris@piefed.social 21 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

I guess they could light a data center on fire to keep warm and not run their heaters? Win/win?
(Also I hope it’s very obvious to everyone this is a joke, I’m not trying no to incite or encourage violence in any way at all).

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 hours ago

I'm just amazed at the grotesquely huge amounts of copper they have in those datacenters.

[–] gilokee@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago

I also hope that data centers "don't" get burnt down. How "un"satisfying would that be. While I'm at it, I hope no one kills the trillionaire.

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 16 points 15 hours ago

Clearly you were talking about doing this in Minecraft, so its okay.

[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 194 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (3 children)

We all see this coming, but the billionaires and our state/county/city leaders assure us everything will be fair and fine.

Same deal with water. It will be 100 degrees and data centers will be draining local water supplies, while residents will be told not to water their flowers or take too many showers.

Fuck all this.

[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 hours ago

I'll be so sad when the CEOs get Luigi'd.

[–] rustbuckett@programming.dev 33 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I love that their solution is to not use the thing that the data centers are supposed to be for.

[–] pticrix@lemmy.ca 23 points 19 hours ago

Oh don't worry, people in Silicon Valley won't feel the restrictions and will be running their OpenClaw-type chained agents all night long doing absolutely nothing of worth.

People will be sacked for turning up to work smelling of sweat. Such fun times.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 60 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

We need Anonymous to do something about data centers.

[–] knomie@feddit.org 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

We need ~~Anonymous~~ to do something about data centers.

Don't wait for others to save us.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

While I agree, theres nothing I can actually do. Besides inform people of the damage they cause by using big tech, which has gotten me nowhere so far.

If everyone today quit using meta and google products and openai (and voted on laws to keep data centers out, and voted on laws against monopolies) , the entire industry would crumble.

[–] Anonymous_Leaker@lemmy.world 35 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Well, we are working on it, cuz.

[–] green_goglin@thelemmy.club 27 points 18 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Anonymous_Leaker@lemmy.world 17 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Remember, data centers need internet to function. Usually.

[–] green_goglin@thelemmy.club 14 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I prefer calling them clanker lairs

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 11 points 17 hours ago

Wretched hives of scum and villAIny

[–] GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml 86 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

In Virginia during the fifa World Cup there are a lot of pro data center ads funded by a group that was created for this purpose called Virginia Connects.

It’s the usual shitbags lying to the public to make it sound like data centers are good

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

In Virginia ads are still running about not leaving rural Virginians behind by banning data centers. Claiming that they will bring jobs to the rural community but those nasty politicians are banning the progress of data centers.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 13 points 21 hours ago

Are they in cahoots with the PACs that support pro AI candidates? (Are they the same groups? I really don't know.)

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 17 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)
[–] ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net 18 points 19 hours ago

County with 37 datacenters can go fuck itself with a cactus.

here come the brownouts motherfuckers...

[–] Photonic@lemmy.world 14 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I guess they’re in the FO part of FAFO. I really hope this kind of stuff wakes people up enough to do something about it.

[–] MML@sh.itjust.works 8 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I least they got all that money and jobs (right? I'm pretty sure Facebook skirted that actually)

[–] Photonic@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, those data centers definitely must have employed like, three site managers each! So come to think about: hundreds and hundreds of (… okay a little over 100) people employed in all those centers combined. And all it took was to raise electricity prices by 25% for 350k people

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[–] Anonymous_Leaker@lemmy.world 10 points 19 hours ago

I just yelled "what!" outload.

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