How the insatiable thirst of datacenters is leaving communities across the US high and dry

The Guardian UK Friday 05 June 2026, 06:00 UTC By Oliver Milman 1 min read

Key Points

In this week’s newsletter: Utah’s gargantuan Stratos development is the latest battleground in the AI-driven fight for water, energy, and our environmental future• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereKevin O’Leary is many things. He is a flamboyant venture capitalist, co-host of the TV show Shark Tank, vocal supporter of Donald Trump and, recently, a villainous tycoon (or, in his character’s words, a vampire born in 1601) in the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme.

In this week’s newsletter: Utah’s gargantuan Stratos development is the latest battleground in the AI-driven fight for water, energy, and our environmental future

• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

Kevin O’Leary is many things. He is a flamboyant venture capitalist, co-host of the TV show Shark Tank, vocal supporter of Donald Trump and, recently, a villainous tycoon (or, in his character’s words, a vampire born in 1601) in the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme.

For the people of Utah, however, O’Leary is the highly controversial face of a new climate controversy. I’ll explain why, after this week’s most important reads.

Prepare for imminent return of El Niño, UN warns

‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival

Damaged, deserted, dilapidated … what comes next for the Great Barrier Reef island resorts lying in ruins?

US (LOCATION) Utah (LOCATION) Earth (LOCATION) Shark Tank (ORG) Donald Trump (PERSON) Oscar (PERSON) Marty Supreme (PERSON) El Niño (ORG) UN (ORG) the Great Barrier Reef (LOCATION)

Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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Tappy is a tiny wireless remote that doesn’t look like one. Following the launch of the surprisingly popular Kobo Remote, Boox has released its own device to ease the burden of reaching for an e-reader’s touchscreen that’s an arm’s length away. The Tappy isn’t Boox’s first page-turning remote, but its design takes a much different approach to the company’s slim but boring B.T. Remoter.

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How the insatiable thirst of datacenters is leaving communities across the US high and dry

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