this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
216 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37747 readers
199 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
alyaza@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org
gyrfalcon@beehaw.org
rs5th@beehaw.org
Los@beehaw.org
coldredlight@beehaw.org
SemioticStandard@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@kbin.social
remington@beehaw.org
216
Each Bitcoin transaction uses 4,200 gallons of water — enough to fill a swimming pool — and could potentially cause freshwater shortages (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 11 months ago by throws_lemy to c/technology@beehaw.org
111 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] PenguinTD@lemmy.ca 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

someone from a totally different thread mentioned that the water can't stay in the system because of whatever mineral stuff from the cooling pipe/anti-algae/anti-corrosive has to leave the system after certain cycles. So unless you have a treatment plant down stream it's not exactly "drinkable" freshwater. (and I doubt water regulation would allow that to happen.)

The consume here means that water is not usable for other application. How? I don't know, maybe it can be used for power wash?

[–] Zworf@beehaw.org 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It probably is still a lot easier to make potable than sewer water or even river water though. At lease you know exactly what contamination is in it.

[–] lechatron@lemmy.today 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Water used to cool data centers is either consumed, meaning it evaporates into the atmosphere via the data center’s cooling towers or discharged, as industrial wastewater, usually to a local wastewater treatment plant.

It can't just be dumped into a river, has to go to a sewer treatment plant.

edit: They do recirculate it, but it eventually needs to be replaced. And some facilities have treatment plants on site, so doesn't necessarily needed to go to a sewer treatment plant.

[–] PenguinTD@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago

I agree, it would eventually have it's own ecosystem around that water usage if "fresh" water or not really drinking water related use is required. At this point I think it's just cost related, cheaper just to dump into ocean.