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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">The state of Oregon recently passed several laws regarding electricity.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">* One prohibited increases of electric rates during winter months.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">* Another limited rate increases to no more often than 15 months</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">* Yet another passed strict limitations on construction of data centers consuming large amounts of electricity.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">This from a state that used to have abundant electricity from large hydro dams.</div><div><br></div>
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On Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 01:45:29 AM PDT, Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> wrote:
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<div><br></div><div><br>True but not relevant to Deirdre's point. You knew that, right?<br>The profligate overuse of drinking water (to name just one squandered<br>resource) for server farm cooling for, lately, huge LLM installations <br>(previously cryptocurrency mining) may not be a problem in climates with<br>year-round watercourses everywhere (like Dad's native Norway), but it's<br>already horribly damaging in, say, the American West.<br><br>That is a real problem, and saying it somehow doesn't matter being it's<br>"social and economical" rather than technological misses the point that<br>-- again, sticking only to water as an example -- humans, crops, etc. <br>being edged out for fresh water is a big issue.<br><br>Now, you could say that my country ought to have better protections of<br>key resources against depredation via greater buying power, and I would<br>agree. But the point remains, that the immediate effects are<br>pernicious, which I believe was Deirdre's point.<br><br></div>
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