Abs🌊🌴✌️ @TeamPelosi

This beauty is a peacock leopard Appaloosa horse, with a unique and extraordinary coat. Her ancestry traces back to ancestors once bred and cared for by the Nez Perce Indians, famous for selecting this versatile and distinctive breed. [📷 Beth Hostetler]

America's largest groundwater reserve now faces data centers under construction directly above it. Recent analysis reveals that multiple proposed and under construction AI data centers lie directly atop or adjacent to the Ogallala Aquifer. This vast underground freshwater reservoir ranks as the largest in the United States and stands among the most critical groundwater resources in North America. The aquifer spans eight states. It accounts for approximately 30 percent of groundwater used for irrigation nationwide and sustains about one fifth of United States agricultural output. Not every data center will draw water straight from the aquifer itself. Several companies have shifted toward more water efficient cooling technologies while others have yet to reveal their specific plans. Researchers however highlight the heavy concentration of large scale AI developments in Texas and Wyoming. This buildup prompts serious questions about the overall strain on a resource that is already stressed. Contemporary AI data centers produce massive heat loads and demand advanced cooling solutions. A single large hyperscale site can consume as much as 5 million gallons of water each day. That amount equals the daily water requirements of a town housing tens of thousands of people. Estimates indicate that United States data centers directly used roughly 17 billion gallons of water in 2023. Including the water needed to generate their electricity the annual total could surpass 160 billion gallons. These volumes are set to increase further as AI infrastructure grows rapidly. The Ogallala Aquifer remains especially fragile due to its extremely slow recharge rate. Groundwater levels in some locations have declined by more than 200 feet or 61 meters. Certain portions of the aquifer might require centuries or even millennia to replenish. Specialists note that facility location represents only one consideration. The selected cooling methods the chosen water sources and comprehensive long term oversight will ultimately shape the real environmental consequences.