How the insatiable thirst of datacenters is leaving communities across the US high and dry

In this week’s newsletter: Utah’s gargantuan Stratos development is the latest battleground in the AI-driven fight for water, energy, and our environmental future• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereKevin O’Leary is many things. He is a flamboyant venture capitalist, co-host of the TV show Shark Tank, vocal supporter of Donald Trump and, recently, a villainous tycoon (or, in his character’s words, a vampire born in 1601) in the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme.For the people of Utah, however, O’Leary is the highly controversial face of a new climate controversy. I’ll explain why, after this week’s most important reads.Prepare for imminent return of El Niño, UN warns‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survivalDamaged, deserted, dilapidated … what comes next for the Great Barrier Reef island resorts lying in ruins? Continue reading...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/04/how-the-insatiable-thirst-of-datacenters-is-leaving-communities-across-the-us-high-and-dry