As citizens of the Earth, there is a direct call to action to protect and preserve the country’s largest freshwater resource. The recent report from Racine regarding a data center’s projected usage of nearly 2.8 million gallons of water from Lake Michigan will adversely impact water quality, thus posing a potential risk for Wisconsin citizens and the environment (“Microsoft plans second Racine County data center,” Sept. 19).
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, over 1.6 million Wisconsin households utilize drinking water from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Data centers, such as the one opening in Mount Pleasant, require copious amounts of water to cool equipment, releasing wastewater back into its source.
Although Microsoft claims to implement innovative technology to reduce water usage for its data centers, this new edifice will certainly disrupt the wildlife and alter the quality of the water Wisconsin citizens will consume. Technological advancements should not come at the cost of our ecological health and future.
Taylor Vraney, Wauwatosa
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Microsoft data centers will disrupt wildlife, quality of WI citizens’ water | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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