• Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.orgEnglish
    3 hours

    The same argument is used by opponents of wind energy - Infrasound is having bad effects on their health. People do say that while living next to roads that are producing infrasound multiple times louder than wind turbines ever could.

    It’s a nice argument if you need it.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6 hours

    Have a number of big fans run at almost the same frequency, and you get an onslaught of waves at the differences of those frequencies.

    As they are all nearly the same speed/frequency, the differences will be infrasound, which causes a lot of odd effects on people, like anxiety.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5 hours

        We need an anarchist Mr. Rogers. Just someone pure of heart to talk to kids about taking care of their neighbors no matter what the government says. Little everyday lessons in consensus and how to deal with the conflicts that arise when different people have different big feelings. How everyone is special just for being themselves and we should encourage our neighbors to be their unique selves.

    • audaxdreik@pawb.socialEnglish
      10 hours

      Benn Jordan is a gem, do yourself a favor and just go watch all his stuff.

      His latest on robot dogs is amazingly well-executed and researched with terrifying conclusions.

  • Skyrmir@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10 hours

    The US has a serious problem with who is able to sue for what damages when it comes to pollution. Depending on if it’s noise, water, or air, the legal codes are not effective at protecting property or people.

    • IratePirate@feddit.orgEnglish
      10 hours

      Depending on if it’s noise, water, or air, the legal codes are not effective at protecting property or people.

      Boy, it’s almost like those are meant to protect something and someone else… Hm… 🤔

  • ikt@aussie.zoneEnglish
    11 hours

    we’ve had data centres for 40 years how did this only recently come up in America?

    Ngl didn’t read the article

    • SUDO@reddthat.comEnglish
      5 hours

      Ooh a question I can answer. I will make the answer as neutral as I can just explaining the differences of old Data Centers and new ones.

      I worked in several data centers (DC). But all were air cooled. These AI DCs are also called Hyper scales. They need liquid due to the density of heat production. In addition some literally use jet engines to power them instead of grid power. Some new DCs use loopholes like adding wheels to their power production so that way they can skirt around laws saying it’s only temporary power production.

      In the past a rack (42u standard) would hold things like hard drives, tape libraries, network stuff, and servers. Now they cram in GPUs by the dozens, run them at max via liquid cooling. Traditional DC cooling used air cooled hot and cold isles, raised floors with air conditioning pump and large scale chiller units.

      Hyper scales are whole different animals. They are ment for processing. Depending on their loop system they need water connected right to GPU/CPUs, heat distribution, fresh water. All relatively new due to water’s thermal mass.

      Traditional DCs were air cooled. For perspective a fortune 500’s DC may have been 3k sq ft. A Colo (multiple companies sharing one building for infrastructure) may be 15000-50000sq ft. These new data centers are now campuses. Like they are 8 data center buildings on one site because it’s more practical to drive at some point.

      TL;DR a Data Center =/= hyperscale data center.

      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/15/elon-musk-xai-datacenter-memphis

      • Voytrekk@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        6 hours

        So they build them cheaply and doing everything in their power to avoid regulations. We really need the government to come in and shut these down given all the harm they cause to their local environment.

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4 hours

          Yeah. People don’t understand why I’m not anti-datacenter (let me finish before you dog-pile me). Datacenters are very efficient ways to house lots of compute. Power, HVAC, and staffing all benefit from economies of scale. Most of our modern life is highly depent on datacenters, including application specific AI tools (not LLMs, but like medical imaging analysis tools) that will have positive effects on humanity. I do have problems with datacenters that are going up quickly and cheaply, with lax standards for air, water, sound and light pollution, and power subsidized by the surrounding homes, in order to ride the front of this very unstable AI bubble.

          Before you ask, I did sign the petition to limit datacenters in my state. I’d sign one to limit new datacenter construction nation-wide. Datacenters are essential to modern life, which is exactly why we should have a higher standard for how they are constructed. I’m not anti-data center, but I am anti-whatever-the-fuck-this-is.

        • myrmidex@belgae.socialEnglish
          5 hours

          A government worried about the environment… That usually only happens in times of mass outrage, chances of which might decrease over time by modern propaganda communication strategies.

  • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
    8 hours

    so same thing as for wind turbines then

    Edit: as in, they should not be built where people live because you can feel the vibrations and it has a measurable effect on your vascular health. i linked a paper.

    • black0ut@pawb.socialEnglish
      9 hours

      Wind turbines don’t make infrasound like datacenters. While they do make some infrasound, it’s less loud than datacenters, and most impostantly, doesn’t get transmitted really far (air is pretty inefficient at transmitting infrasound).

      However, datacenters are louder, and have better mechanical connection with the ground. The ground is very good at transmitting infrasound, and it can even vibrate an entire building if the structure resonates. This effect is not new, and we’ve also seen it with other industrial buildings with heavy machinery. Furthermore, due to regulations, you can’t build as close to a wind farm as you can to a datacenter.

      • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
        8 hours

        that’s why i mean it’s the same thing. don’t build them near people. we know ground-transferred infrasound is bad for your health.

        as for louder, idk. i worked next to a facebook dc for years, it was eerily quiet.

        • Serinus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6 hours

          Old data centers and these new things are about as similar as a single family home and a cruise ship.

          See SUMO’s comment above.

          • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
            6 hours

            interestingly the one i was next to was one of the first to use the evaporative cooling tech most of them use now. it was developed partly at my university.

    • KingKong33@lemmy.mlEnglish
      10 hours

      There’s tons of evidence for data centers, but I’ve never heard the same for wind turbines. Do you have a source?

      • Zarxrax@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10 hours

        Can confirm I have seen tons of articles over the years of residents complaining about low frequency hum from wind turbines. Just Google it. In comments sections, it generally gets written off as bullshit or the residents just hating clean energy. Now the same scenario comes up for data centers and people want to accept it as a legitimate problem.

        I dunno, but maybe being exposed to a constant non-stop noise that never turns off might not be good for humans, no matter what the source is.

    • arockinyourshoe@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10 hours

      I would love to see your explanation for why wind turbines have as much a negative impact on people’s health as hyperscale data centers.