Millions of gallons of water needed for new data centres in Chile during 30 year drought

Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

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Millions of gallons of water needed for new data centres in Chile during 30 year drought
Chile looks set to become the data centre capital of Latin America, with the country’s President announcing another 28 proposed developments. But these data centres require vast amounts of electricity to run and huge volumes of water to cool them. With the country experiencing a severe long term drought, predicted to last until 2040, how can building these centres benefit the environment and local communities. Rest of World Latin American reporter Daniela Dib has been investigating these concerns.
Concrete alternatives not very eco-friendly
New biobased building materials made from fungi and agricultural residues have been hailed as a possible environmentally friendly concrete replacement. However, new research suggests that these alternatives need huge amounts of electricity to produce and have a shorter lifespan than concrete. To discuss these potential issues as well as how to overcome them, the researcher behind the findings, Stefania Akromah of the University of Bristol joins us on the show.
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Peter Guest.
More on this week's stories:
U.S tech giants are building dozens of data centers in Chile. Locals are fighting back
Potential Environmental Impact of Mycelium Composites on African Communities
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Production Manager: Liz Tuohy
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1. Millions of gallons of water needed for new data centres in Chile during 30 year drought (00:00:00)

2. New data Centres in Chile (00:02:19)

3. Building material made from fungi not a great green option (00:14:48)