Lately, tech companies like Meta have been putting hundreds of billions toward building new data centers to power their AI ambitions.

Some communities have been pushing back, however, arguing these facilities strain local resources. But demand for data centers isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.

“They’re the physical backbone of our entire digital world,” said Landon Marston, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.

On the show today, Marston explains what data centers actually are, why they require so much energy and water to operate, and how they can affect nearby communities. Plus, how can data centers become more sustainable?

Later, reflections on Medicaid cuts and the power of journaling. And, a listener makes us smarter about “100-year floods.”

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door" from The New York Times

• "Coreweave stock pops after company announces $6 billion AI data center in Pennsylvania" from CNBC

• "Meta's Zuckerberg pledges hundreds of billions for AI data centers in superintelligence push" from Reuters 

• "How A.I. Is Changing the Way the World Builds Computers" from The New York Times

• "China Is Putting Data Centers in the Ocean to Keep Them Cool" from Scientific American 

• ”The 100-Year Flood” from the U.S. Geological Survey

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