Always strive to learn something useful. --Sophocles

The global power supply is feeling the pinch of AI as data centers are being built and more planned for companies getting in to the generative AI field. I have mentioned before that generative AI consumes more power than generating cryptocurrency, which is no slouch when it comes to consuming current: companies have repurposed retired coal plants to power crypto!

So now what, we're going to unretire closed nuke plants to power AI data centers?

Even now, AI mining operations are being closed to repurpose them for training the Large Language Models (the LLMs that are frequently referred to) for AI.

This is a big mess, and it's only going to get worse. The permitting and construction lead time for any energy source, be it natural gas, wind farms, whatever, is quite extensive. And there's probably a heck of a waiting list for the companies that build them. And the companies that want new data centers want the power for them NOW!NOW!NOW! Bit of a problem.

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/04/power-hungry-ai-is-putting-the-hurt-on-global-electricity-supply/

An organization called EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool registry, is wanting their label removed from lots of HP models that feature Dynamic Security that won't allow users to use non-HP ink in them. The EPEAT standard is for equipment that "... are built with the environment in mind and, more specifically, do not block third-party ink cartridges", something that Dynamic Security, blocking third-party cartridges that promote reduced plastic consumption and landfill use, prevents. EPEAT says Dynamic Security makes a mockery of this endorsement and thus the labels should no longer be applied to printers that have it installed.

Additionally, HP is gaming the system. From the complaint: "OfficeJet 9015e claims 'EPEAT Silver'; however, the corresponding EPEAT Registry describes the registered device as 'HP OfficeJet Pro 9010/9012/9015/9018 All-in-One Printer.' This pattern is repeated across numerous HP devices, many of which are HP+ models that include the letter “e” at the end of their model number. While none of these 'e' models specifically appear in the EPEAT registry, as shown in the table below HP claims EPEAT registration for about half of them.
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The trade group added that the Envy Inspire 7255e and OfficeJet 8034e claim EPEAT registration, but there are no such models registered, even if you get rid of the "e" suffix.

"This blatant greenwashing must be corrected."

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/hp-printers-should-have-epeat-ecolabels-revoked-trade-group-demands/

This is an amazing thing, and they've been doing it for a decade! A German entrepreneur created a search engine that, for approximately every 45 searches on its site, they plant a tree! They've built renewable power plants. They have a branch of the company (heh, heh) that monitors satellite imagery of the areas they've planted to make sure things are going well.

The company is Ecosia, and their web site has a running counter of how many trees that they've planted. The first eco-search engine that he tried to set up was in partnership with Google, but that quickly ended. This engine's results are back-ended with Bing. I'm not sure what I think of that, I just switched my iMac's Firefox browser to it, so I'll be seeing. I'm running three browsers on my iMac, so I'll be switching my Safari browser to it later, then I'll have to reconfig my laptops (yes, I have two: a MacBook Pro and an Asus running Windows 10), and then I'll have to consider my two iPads and my iPhone. THEN I'll have to think about my work computer....

Oh: if you create an account on their system, it'll show how many trees that your searches are responsible for planting! I do a lot of searches at the library, I expect I could be good for a tree a week maybe!

https://www.ecosia.org

https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/ecosia-start-up-aims-to-use-your-search-results-to-plant-trees-a-1278617.html

By the way, if you have an Apple device, and perhaps Android, you can subscribe to Der Spiegel's international edition for $1 a month on a six-month subscription! Lots of good stuff.


Speaking of trees, a recent study shows that living surrounded by leafy trees is much better for your wellness. I need to read the article as the forest that I live in is mainly pines. I could clear some and plant some leafy things that might be hearty enough to survive up here, but I don't know how long they'd take to be beneficial.

https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/07/urban-tree-canopy-green-space-wellbeing-research/595060/