The UK Environment Agency has some tips for the public to help conserve water, including
> Deleting old emails to reduce pressure on data centre servers
I kid you not.
Discussion
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@neil is this page usef-NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT
@neil I missed this when you first posted it. Possibly because it appears to have made my brain kernel panic with its sheer bone-headedness.
@neil In the 90s some people used to have "Made from 100% recycled electrons" e-mail footers… in 2025 satire eats itself.
@neil
This is, pardon my language, fucking outrageous.
@neil
A large PLC that I consult for insists on attaching a 32kb image promoting their environmentally conscious efforts to email, not just the first one in the thread, and not just externally either.
A large PLC that I consult for insists on attaching a 32kb image promoting their environmentally conscious efforts to email, not just the first one in the thread, and not just externally either.
The maths is over my head, but I conservatively estimate that my Outlook #macro that strips attachments from emails has probably saved them more money and reduced more carbon than any of the green initiatives in their list. (And yes, I do actually get that many emails from various departments).
@neil A few years ago a German minister wanted people to stop uploading food photos in order to save energy.
@neil But if you plot a graph of emails sent per day along side extreme weather they go the same way !
@neil All my email has been deleted. I hope everything is better now. Do I also have to delete backups?
@neil Did an AI tell them to say that?
@neil these are the same mechanisms, which creates our individual co2 footprint, so they can offload on us to buy our hazelnuts unpackaged while companies and billionaires get richer by torching the earth.
@neil @CyclesSmiles **scrrrttcccchhhh!!!**
@neil I am sure banning protests, punishing activists and protecting apartheid would solve the problem.
@neil
Old and busted: Be kind, rewind.
New hotness: Be neat, delete.
Radical, unthinkable: Be sane, constrain.
Old and busted: Be kind, rewind.
New hotness: Be neat, delete.
Radical, unthinkable: Be sane, constrain.
@neil petitioning UK parliament right now to tell everyone which is heavier, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers.
@neil
Speaking from water limited southern california, has your government considered requiring your water treatment processing to process water to drinking water standards?
If people find recycled water icky, it can at least be used for irrigation. (And maybe cooling too)
(I'm picking on the wastewater because there seemed to be some very serious weaknesses in the capabilities of the privatized water companies)
@neil ..so getting rid of all those data centers would help even more, right?.. right? 
@neil few people know this but emails are a kind of freshwater fish
@neil no comments on the massive surveillance and data harvesting operations though. Just clear your inbox please.
@neil
It makes more sense to ban AI.
@neil did thry ask chatGPT for that tips?
@neil be better off telling people not to ask an llm a question
@neil
And delete all pictures and videos of cats.
And delete all pictures and videos of cats.
In 2015 it was estimated that 15% of internet traffic was cat related.
https://blog.purestorage.com/perspectives/how-much-of-the-worlds-data-is-cat-content/?print=pdf
In 2010, it was also estimated that there were about 1.3 billion cat pictures on the internet. They all require storage and assuming each image is 1 MB, well that's a lot of data storage.
We definitely don't need any more cat photos. We know what they look like and they are just manipulating you. They are not cute. They devastate wild life and just want to shit in your slippers or leave vomit on the stairs.
@neil please consider the environment and print off this email.
@neil I kid you not... Tell me that you dont understand maths without telling me you don't understand maths 🤯
@neil maybe send UK Environment Agency this link?
https://rssfeed.media/@abcfeeds/114853222911121315
https://rssfeed.media/@abcfeeds/114853222911121315
@neil
They sold off the reservoirs - now they're whining like spoiled children!
This is yet another rip off to put money in the shareholders pockers!
@neil simply banning AI datacenters is probably too hard. Instead, recommending to collect all the turds in the toilet and only flush at the end of the day is so much easier.
@neil
A few years back, one of the strong suggestions was:
Water your garden by peeing there.
(Actual government recommendation from one of the London 'burbs.)
@neil Clearly someone got the wrong end of the stick when they first heard the term "cloud provider".
@neil @thomasfuchs I read today that a new Facebook data center will require 5GW of power, but I am sure every email deleted will help a lot #sarcasm 💪🏻
Futurama GIF. A space ship drops a giant ice cube into the ocean. Caption reads: we simply drop a giant ice cube into the ocean now and then
@neil
This is so interesting! It makes sense I guess.
This is so interesting! It makes sense I guess.
@neil
How does a country with a reputation for constant rain, end up with a fresh water deficit?
@neil Thames water currently loses over half billion litres of drinking water every single day because they prioritised shareholder value over infrastructure (and UK gov let it happen). They can go fsck themselves.
@neil Water companies are spilling millions of litres through leaky pipes, selling off reservoirs, putting shit in our seas and rivers...... And I have to let my garden die to save water... fuck them.
@neil Is it an advance on 'share a bath' ? Asking for a friend.
@neil
We are going to 'tech' our way to oblivion.
@neil
I don't even know where to start ... 🤪 😬
I don't even know where to start ... 🤪 😬
@neil all my long abandoned gmail accounts must be absolutely THIRSTY right now.
@neil next they will try to prompt their way to a solution. Thankfully this AI thing doesn't require cooling right?
@neil
But also don't decrease demand for data centre storage because Kapitalism.
But also don't decrease demand for data centre storage because Kapitalism.
@neil @bert_hubert maybe they think those mails are in contact with water because the providers need to scan them for hidden messages ... 🫣
@neil I use ad blockers and reader mode to save the planet, honest.
@neil
Water-scarce communities and regions
are putting pressure on data centre
operators to reduce their water usage
significantly and to implement solutions
that ensure a more efficient use of
water for cooling purposes.
@neil
I guess AI is supposed to consume a load of water, so if we just delete the internet problem solved.
@neil Are we sure this recommendation wasn't just made up by a government official looking for an excuse to delete emails with evidence of corruption?
"I deleted them for mother nature! Totally selflessly. I'm not hiding anything."
@neil they should recommend using smaller fonts to save on disk space as well 🙄
@neil the internet is a series of water pipes
@neil
It's hard work being this environmentally conscious but it's nice to get some recognition from the Government finally.
@neil tis fine, just ask AI to do it.
Lots of savings of water then.
@neil did they get this list mixed up with their “how to get rid of the evidence” list?
@neil Ah, they're proposing relying on individual action to solve systemic problems, something that never in the history of humanity has failed spectacularly to work.
@neil I hope this email finds you conserving water by deleting it
@neil
the truly sad thing here is that i had no doubts about this being from the UK govt...
@neil They will be suggesting burning plastic to save on recycling next.
@neil brought to you by the same political class that suggested rolling out guard dogs to bark and deter drones over Heathrow…
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