Musk AI project ducks pollution permits with EPA help
By Mary Ellen Klas / Bloomberg Opinion
Build a massive supercomputer housed in a plant powered by methane gas-burning turbines that emit an undisclosed amount of pollutants into a disadvantaged community. Obtain no environmental permits. Ask permission later.
That’s the approach Elon Musk has taken in the city of Memphis, Tenn., as he rushes to build two massive data centers to provide computing power for his artificial intelligence startup xAI. It’s a scenario America might have to get used to as the Trump administration sidles up to Big Tech and devalues environmental protection in service to an AI arms race.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in March that he was open to lowering air quality standards which have “served as a major obstacle to permitting” energy operations. He has since opened the door to allowing some manufacturers to bypass Clean Air Act regulations.
These statements coincide with a push by Musk and other tech titans to usher in a new era of supercomputing by running AI programs that tap the properties of quantum physics at unprecedented speeds. The operations consume enormous amounts of water and power, raising widespread environmental concerns.
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