STORY · SELSKAPER_
Solution to AI's water consumption: buy up golf courses and turn them into parks
Simon Willison proposes that AI giants like Google can solve their massive water consumption by purchasing golf courses in areas like Coachella Valley and converting them into public parks. Google used 10.9 billion liters of water in 2025, and if the company bought 40 of 120 golf courses in Coachella Valley it would save around 750,000 liters daily—nearly all of Google's water footprint.
WHY IT MATTERS
This is relevant to the ongoing debate about AI data centers' environmental impact, which has become a pressing regulatory and PR challenge for tech companies. The proposal illustrates both the scale of the problem and how radical solutions need to become to handle the exponential growth in energy and water demands.
SOURCES
MACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY This summary is written by machine from the sources below. We sort and explain — but we are a way into the field, not the final word. Check the source when something matters to you.