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[ARTICLE · art-63036] src=simonwillison.net ↗ pub= topic=ai-infrastructure verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Spot birds not golf

A proposal suggests that hyperscalers like Google, which used 10.9 billion gallons of water in 2025, could offset data center water use by buying golf courses in the Coachella Valley and converting them into public parks. The idea claims that acquiring 40 of the region's 120 golf courses, each using about 750,000 gallons per day, would compensate for Google's daily water consumption of 30 million gallons.

read1 min views1 publishedJul 17, 2026

Suggestion for hyperscalers feeling pressure over data center water use:

Buy up a few exclusive country clubs, convert the golf courses into public parks, pay for guides and binoculars to get the previous members into birdwatching - help them embrace a more sustainable hobby!

Google used 10.9 billion gallons in 2025, so about 30 million gallons per day. The Coachella Valley has 120 golf courses each using ~800 acre-feet per year, which is ~750,000 gallons per day.

So Google buying up 40 of those courses (1/3) should do the trick.

Tags: ai-energy-usage, ai

source & further reading
simonwillison.net — original article Firefox in WebAssembly Quoting Thibault Sottiaux Mermaid to ASCII art (mermaid-ascii)
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