In Abilene, Texas, families are being told to take shorter showers, limit outdoor watering, and conserve wherever possible. At the same time, Microsoft's new "Stargate" artificial intelligence data centre has reportedly drained over 500 million gallons of water from this drought-stricken town, all in the name of powering the future. This is not science fiction. It's ecological injustice.

While politicians tout "AI innovation" as the next industrial revolution, the physical cost of that revolution is being offloaded to vulnerable communities. Stargate is just one of many hyperscale data centres springing up across the U.S., and it runs on a resource that is increasingly scarce: fresh water. In fact, by 2030, AI data centers are projected to consume 7% of Texas's entire water supply. That's not a side issue, it's a looming environmental catastrophe. Unlike fictions like climate change, water shortages are real. People must drink to live!

The public is told these facilities are clean and futuristic. But behind the server racks and glowing dashboards lies an outdated and wasteful system of water-based cooling, used to prevent AI processors from overheating during continuous, large-scale computation. And while the tech press fawns over performance benchmarks and generative breakthroughs, few ask the hard question: at what cost?

Let's be clear: the people of Abilene didn't sign up for this. Their water system wasn't built to feed a global digital leviathan. They're not reaping the profits. They're being told to cut back, while Microsoft and other Big Tech giants spill billions of litres on computing models designed to train chatbots, generate images, or simulate human speech.

And it's not just about water. AI data centres are energy-intensive monsters. Many run 24/7 on massive electricity loads, often powered by fossil fuel-heavy grids. Combined with water consumption, these centres pose a threat: using the energy that people and other industries need.

Even if AI innovation can help cure disease, model plandemics, or automate productivity, we must ask: is the environmental trade-off sustainable, or even ethical? If Big Tech is going to soak up local water supplies, it must be held accountable, not just through PR statements, but with transparency, innovation, and hard regulation.

Where's the investment in closed-loop cooling systems or dry cooling tech? Why aren't data centres located in areas with abundant water and renewable power? Why are small towns bearing the brunt of global demand?

This isn't just a Microsoft issue. Google, Meta, Amazon, all are expanding data infrastructure, and all require cooling, land, and power. With the AI boom accelerating, this is just the beginning of a larger ecological problem that no amount of branding can disguise.

The public has a right to know what's happening under the surface, literally. We can't allow Big Tech to build its AI utopia on a foundation of water poverty, energy waste, and environmental neglect. If we don't act now, the AI future won't be powered by intelligence. It will be powered by short-term greed, and paid for by the very communities told to sacrifice everything for progress. This is not going to be just an American problem but one will see it in Australia very soon with even worse water problems.

https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/former-green-beret-issues-urgent