Watching the world burn as all the money flows into a multitrillion-dollar Magic 8 Ball

KETTLE Your host Brandon Vigliarolo has been breathing in wildfire smoke from Canada for the past few days, which really has him thinking about whether all those AI datacenters building gas turbines and contributing to climate change is really worth it. You can listen to the latest episode of The Kettle right here on this page, as well as on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube where you can subscribe to get notified of the latest episode. Luckily for us, CNBC technology and climate reporter Lora Kolodny, who just published a documentary on xAI's environmentally damaging Colossus datacenters in Memphis, Tennessee, was available to join us as a special guest on this week's episode. Lora chats with Brandon and El Reg Editor-in-Chief Matt Rosoff about how datacenters are affecting the environment, how they could be done right, and why they keep being done wrong. A lightly edited transcript is below: Hey everyone, Brandon Vigliarolo here with the latest episode of The Register's Kettle podcast, and we've got a special one for you this week that I'll admit is a bit personal for me. If you've been following the news, you've probably heard about wildfire smoke blanketing the Great Lakes region of the United States, which is where I live. On Thursday morning, I woke to see air quality index scores nearing 1,000 in nearby towns, double the AQI scale's maximum of 500 and considered dangerously unhealthy for even fit, young individuals. So what does this have to do with tech, you may ask? Well, there's been rampant wildfires in Canada, the northern US, and the West Coast in recent years that experts say have been made far worse by climate change. And the datacenter build-out, driven by AI demand, has led many tech companies to replace sustainability promises with gas turbines, belching carbon into the atmosphere. With me to discuss the environmental impacts of datacenter projects is our editor-in-chief, Matt Rosoff. And a special guest this week, CNBC Technology and Climate Reporter Lora Kolodny, who just authored a report on XAI's role in the datacenter backlash, thanks to what's been going on in Memphis, Tennessee. Lora, Matt, thanks so much for coming on. Lora Kolodny: Thank you for having me. It's a reunion with Matt, as we used to work together and he has edited many of my past stories on this issue. Matt Rosoff: Thanks for having us. Indeed. Brandon: It's great to have someone so familiar with this topic. Let's start with your report on xAI's dealings in Memphis. You published a video and a written summary on how this project is impacting locals and the environment. Tell us what is going on there, specifically looking at the environmental side of things. Lora Kolodny: Big picture: a couple years ago, early 2024, xAI – Elon Musk's AI venture that is now part of SpaceX – moved into Memphis, into this old appliance factory, an Electrolux factory, and was building out a datacenter at breakneck speed. It was popped up in 122 days. He had to move some assets ar…