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My previous company did data centers, but on a pretty small (relatively) scale. Our big site was 20 Megawatts - the size of a modest city ~20K households. We did a lot of stuff to be environmentally conscious. We did it because I wanted to, but also because it made a lot of sense financially and was easy to sell to the board of directors. When your power bills are 200K$ a month, a 10% savings starts to look pretty good. Part of our systems used evaporative cooling with a water tower and part was just airside cooling. We could adaptively change our profile to keep the temp and humidity perfect on our data floor. A big part of that was selective heat rejection. There was a section at the back of our building that got all that waste air. It wasn't good enough to pipe back into the HVAC system (sensible heat needs to be pretty high to be useful), so it was just dumped. That area was always ~ 20+ degrees warmer than the outside temp. When it snowed, it never stuck back there. Even when it rained, it would dry quickly there (relative humidity drops rapidly when you warm the air because it expands - so it sucks up any water around).
Location: At the dude ranch / above the sea Gender:
Posted:
Mar 19, 2026 - 7:30am
The EPA is trying to roll back protections against ethylene oxide, a chemical that causes leukemia and breast cancer, in communities that are already overburdened with pollution.
The public comment period is open right now. Itâs easy to post your thoughts; I just did.
You donât have to write an essay. You just have to show up. Tell them you oppose weakening these standards, you know what this chemical does to people, and that youâre watching. They are legally required to read these. Comments like this have changed outcomes before.
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Jul 26, 2025 - 4:20pm
islander wrote:
One of the many reasons I like it here is that we are on the edge of one of the dark sky regions. Our little town is suffering a lot of development and that is starting to have some impact. Our neighbors have mostly been good, but there is a lot more lights than there used to be. Still, night time on the rooftop deck is amazing. Especially on new/ sliver moons that set early like right now. Everyone is building walls to (which does contain a lot of their light), which feels bizarre to me - if you feel you need that for security, why would you want to be here. We have very modest fencing that has a lot of openings. We get horses and donkeys and all kinds of other stuff wandering through our yard. It's magical. We have a big mesquite tree that makes a lot of shade. I often find a pony standing under it.
It used to be common to see the milky way growing up in South Jersey... now it never happens (maybe if I made my way to the Pine Barrens).
I'd forgotten what it was like until last week, when we were at a friends place in the hills in Northern Sonoma County (CA). It's really sad that kids now rarely see the milky way... it changes the way you feel about the dark.
One of the many reasons I like it here is that we are on the edge of one of the dark sky regions. Our little town is suffering a lot of development and that is starting to have some impact. Our neighbors have mostly been good, but there is a lot more lights than there used to be. Still, night time on the rooftop deck is amazing. Especially on new/ sliver moons that set early like right now. Everyone is building walls to (which does contain a lot of their light), which feels bizarre to me - if you feel you need that for security, why would you want to be here. We have very modest fencing that has a lot of openings. We get horses and donkeys and all kinds of other stuff wandering through our yard. It's magical. We have a big mesquite tree that makes a lot of shade. I often find a pony standing under it.
Edit: I'm down south for a couple days. It's really amazing to be able to see the milky way. I remember when that was fairly common even in smaller cities. The levels of light pollution in our worlds is staggering. Even more so when you consider how much of it is just advertising.
It used to be common to see the milky way growing up in South Jersey... now it never happens (maybe if I made my way to the Pine Barrens).
I'd forgotten what it was like until last week, when we were at a friends place in the hills in Northern Sonoma County (CA). It's really sad that kids now rarely see the milky way... it changes the way you feel about the dark.
We stopped at a Buc-ee’s along I-95 in SC a few weeks ago. As far as I remember it had standard-height (~30 ft.), downward-pointing, street lights (the same as what was along that part of the interstate), not the high mast, ultra-bright ones that send light vertically and horizontally like the GA ones shown below. I'm sure there are reasons why some highway authorities want/need those types of lights in some areas, but they seem a little extreme to me.
The Journal had a pretty good story about it last week: https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/a-fight-over-buc-ees-and-for-the-soul-of-the-american-west/70E2E4B7-D111-46A8-82A9-8F2870158E9F Lots of irony in the story too. John Malone: When you go north of Denver toward Boulder and Fort Collins, there really is no open space left. It's all developed. So there's not even a hint of what we moved to Colorado for. John Malone is the guy who made his billions on a media empire.His $s come in no small part from advertising and selling expansion to everyone. Maybe not directly, but he certainly fostered the market that enabled buc'ees 116 fuel station and t-shirt outlet.
The Cable TV Cowboy they call him...Whoever they are. He led the way building systems all over the country and then cherry-picked the ones to build his MSO empire.
We stopped at a Buc-eeâs along I-95 in SC a few weeks ago. As far as I remember it had standard-height (~30 ft.), downward-pointing, street lights (the same as what was along that part of the interstate), not the high mast, ultra-bright ones that send light vertically and horizontally like the GA ones shown below. I'm sure there are reasons why some highway authorities want/need those types of lights in some areas, but they seem a little extreme to me.
John Malone: When you go north of Denver toward Boulder and Fort Collins, there really is no open space left. It's all developed. So there's not even a hint of what we moved to Colorado for.
John Malone is the guy who made his billions on a media empire.His $s come in no small part from advertising and selling expansion to everyone. Maybe not directly, but he certainly fostered the market that enabled buc'ees 116 fuel station and t-shirt outlet.
There is a whole thing about one in Colorado that the local (very wealthy) land owner is complaining about. Can't buy stuff 24/7 without big lights though.
Edit: I'm down south for a couple days. It's really amazing to be able to see the milky way. I remember when that was fairly common even in smaller cities. The levels of light pollution in our worlds is staggering. Even more so when you consider how much of it is just advertising.
We stopped at a Buc-eeâs along I-95 in SC a few weeks ago. As far as I remember it had standard-height (~30 ft.), downward-pointing, street lights (the same as what was along that part of the interstate), not the high mast, ultra-bright ones that send light vertically and horizontally like the GA ones shown below. I'm sure there are reasons why some highway authorities want/need those types of lights in some areas, but they seem a little extreme to me.
There is a whole thing about one in Colorado that the local (very wealthy) land owner is complaining about. Can't buy stuff 24/7 without big lights though.
Edit: I'm down south for a couple days. It's really amazing to be able to see the milky way. I remember when that was fairly common even in smaller cities. The levels of light pollution in our worlds is staggering. Even more so when you consider how much of it is just advertising.
Snakehead fish: are are originally from China and Korea and decimate local fish populations in fresh water.
Asian long-horned beetle: These beetles can weaken trees by eating their bark and burrowing into the center. They were brought to the United States in wooden packaging materials and trees.
Asian carp: These fish can eat plankton, which is a food source for larval fish and native mussels.
Asian shore crab: This crab is an invasive species.
Asian swamp eel: This eel is an invasive species.
Apple snail: These snails eat aquatic plants, which could alter the balance of a water system.
Lantana: This plant releases toxins through its roots to kill other plants. It has taken over wild habitats in India.
Spotted lanternfly: These insects are native to China but have become invasive in the northeastern United States. They are dangerous to over a hundred plant species.
Other invasive species: Africanized bees, Hydrilla, Asian clams, and Suckermouth catfish.
(This should not be construed as a personal assault on anything Asian. This is about environmental response to different species, and not a 'conspiracy' against country or race.)
... but it does sorta feel like they're kicking our ass environmentally.
Asian citrus psyllids - What is it about Asia/China that produces all these harmful insects? I'm thinking of the Ash Bore Beetle, the Spotted Lantern Fly. You wouldn't be too crazy to believe in some sort of conspiracy theory that they are engineered and sent Westward to harm us. Is Asia/China experiencing the same harm to their forests and agriculture?
