AI Drives Massive Environmental and Resource Costs

Ramesh Srinivasan and Emily Jacobi write in the Mercury News on Feb. 27, 2026, that corporate AI operations impose large environmental and economic costs, citing studies equating last year's AI carbon emissions to New York City and 2025 freshwater use surpassing global bottled-water consumption. They warn data-center energy demand could match India's by 2034 and call for transparency, a moratorium on new data centers, and democratic control over personal data.