molly taft
@mollytaft.com
disaster dyke on the apocalypse beat @wired.com . very tall with a very short dog. they/them. [email protected], signal: @mollytaft.99. mollytaft.com
Pinned
molly taft
@mollytaft.com
· Apr 22
New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations
A WIRED review of permits for data center projects using natural gas and linked to OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI shows they could emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.
www.wired.com
NEW: I've been shocked by some of the numbers I've been seeing on behind-the-meter power plants for data centers, so I did a little math.
less than a dozen gas plants being built to power data centers for big tech companies could emit a maximum of nearly 130 million tons of CO2e each year (!)
less than a dozen gas plants being built to power data centers for big tech companies could emit a maximum of nearly 130 million tons of CO2e each year (!)
my latest data center column is tracking the fascinating rift growing between maga and trump on the issue: www.wired.com/story/donald...
It’s Donald Trump Versus MAGA on Data Centers
The president has doubled down on data centers and AI. His base is running in the opposite direction.
www.wired.com
September 20, 2026 at 2:46 PM
my latest data center column is tracking the fascinating rift growing between maga and trump on the issue: www.wired.com/story/donald...
Reposted by molly taft
Several people who spoke to us say that it's possible to regulate both, but exactly how involved AI companies are going to be in any new regulatory regime, and what kind of exemptions or deals may be necessary is still unclear. (see more from @regret.bsky.social)
www.wired.com/story/the-ai...
www.wired.com/story/the-ai...
The AI ‘Slowdown’ Is an Antitrust Mess
By framing their efforts as a “slowdown” rather than an industry-wide push for better security standards, AI labs may have set themselves up for years of regulatory headaches.
www.wired.com
September 18, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Several people who spoke to us say that it's possible to regulate both, but exactly how involved AI companies are going to be in any new regulatory regime, and what kind of exemptions or deals may be necessary is still unclear. (see more from @regret.bsky.social)
www.wired.com/story/the-ai...
www.wired.com/story/the-ai...
Reposted by molly taft
But on the other are organizers and experts who assert that AI is already harming people--through things like surveillance, data centers, and algorithmic bias--and that these issues should be front and center, rather than potential future issues.
September 18, 2026 at 4:29 PM
But on the other are organizers and experts who assert that AI is already harming people--through things like surveillance, data centers, and algorithmic bias--and that these issues should be front and center, rather than potential future issues.
Reposted by molly taft
NEW from me and @mollytaft.com: As politicians scramble to figure out how to regulate AI there's a divide growing on the left. On one side, there's Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is calling to regulate the existential threat of AI--the "it will kill us all" possibility.
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
The Leftist Split Over AI Doom
The left wants AI regulation. They just can't agree on what it should look like or how concerned they should be.
www.wired.com
September 18, 2026 at 4:29 PM
NEW from me and @mollytaft.com: As politicians scramble to figure out how to regulate AI there's a divide growing on the left. On one side, there's Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is calling to regulate the existential threat of AI--the "it will kill us all" possibility.
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Reposted by molly taft
The left wants AI regulation. They just can't agree on what it should look like or how concerned they should be. www.wired.com/story/inside...
The Leftist Split Over AI Doom
The left wants AI regulation. They just can't agree on what it should look like or how concerned they should be.
www.wired.com
September 18, 2026 at 10:17 AM
The left wants AI regulation. They just can't agree on what it should look like or how concerned they should be. www.wired.com/story/inside...
NEW: @telliotter.bsky.social & i took a look at the intellectual split happening on the left over how to regulate AI, and whether or not to believe the companies prophesying AI catastrophe
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
The Leftist Split Over AI Doom
The left wants AI regulation. They just can't agree on what it should look like or how concerned they should be.
www.wired.com
September 18, 2026 at 1:26 PM
NEW: @telliotter.bsky.social & i took a look at the intellectual split happening on the left over how to regulate AI, and whether or not to believe the companies prophesying AI catastrophe
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Reposted by molly taft
V good @mollytaft.com piece as always - this one's on why the proliferation of chatbots that constantly query and requery themselves on a loop ("agents") are so profoundly energy intensive, and set to drive even more energy consumption:
www.wired.com/story/ai-age...
www.wired.com/story/ai-age...
AI Agents Are Thirsty for Power
Silicon Valley is shifting away from chatbot queries toward a future filled with resource-intensive agentic AI—and it's driving the data center buildout.
www.wired.com
September 14, 2026 at 10:12 AM
V good @mollytaft.com piece as always - this one's on why the proliferation of chatbots that constantly query and requery themselves on a loop ("agents") are so profoundly energy intensive, and set to drive even more energy consumption:
www.wired.com/story/ai-age...
www.wired.com/story/ai-age...
Reposted by molly taft
New from @mollytaft.com in @wired.com, 🏆 we're all winners!! 🏆 'Congratulations! You Just Lived Through the Hottest Month Ever Recorded; While the strengthening El Niño helped boost temperatures, climate change is the main culprit for making August so hot.' www.wired.com/story/august...
Congratulations! You Just Lived Through the Hottest Month Ever Recorded
While the strengthening El Niño helped boost temperatures, climate change is the main culprit for making August so hot.
www.wired.com
September 11, 2026 at 11:28 AM
New from @mollytaft.com in @wired.com, 🏆 we're all winners!! 🏆 'Congratulations! You Just Lived Through the Hottest Month Ever Recorded; While the strengthening El Niño helped boost temperatures, climate change is the main culprit for making August so hot.' www.wired.com/story/august...
i keep banging this drum but i don't think the actual environmental impacts of data centers are really what people are pissed about.
I have a pod coming out in a couple of weeks with a company that builds data centers that are quieter than libraries, use 99% less water than conventional DCs, & are specifically designed to be useful to grid managers to bring down power prices... & it has reduced public opposition approximately 0%.
September 7, 2026 at 6:23 PM
i keep banging this drum but i don't think the actual environmental impacts of data centers are really what people are pissed about.
Reposted by molly taft
New from @mollytaft.com
Why China Is the Bogeyman Data Center Enthusiasts Just Can't Quit
Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans hate data centers. China makes a perfect scapegoat for tech leaders and their allies—the only problem is a lack of evidence.
www.wired.com
September 6, 2026 at 3:27 PM
New from @mollytaft.com
my first data center column is up! in which i make a good faith effort to find any evidence that china is pushing data center discontent, and find basically nothing (but my DMs are open)
Why China Is the Bogeyman Data Center Enthusiasts Just Can't Quit
Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans hate data centers. China makes a perfect scapegoat for tech leaders and their allies—the only problem is a lack of evidence.
www.wired.com
September 6, 2026 at 8:40 PM
my first data center column is up! in which i make a good faith effort to find any evidence that china is pushing data center discontent, and find basically nothing (but my DMs are open)
i dont think you need to believe that ai is intelligent or that agi is coming or whatever to be worried about what the hugging face hack could mean for things that rely on computers, like banking and energy and water utilities and like, life in general
September 4, 2026 at 4:25 PM
i dont think you need to believe that ai is intelligent or that agi is coming or whatever to be worried about what the hugging face hack could mean for things that rely on computers, like banking and energy and water utilities and like, life in general
Reposted by molly taft
Becoming increasingly convinced we’re not ready for what El Niño has in store this fall and winter, especially layered on top of global warming www.wired.com/story/2026-s...
September 3, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Becoming increasingly convinced we’re not ready for what El Niño has in store this fall and winter, especially layered on top of global warming www.wired.com/story/2026-s...
some fun news: i'm going to be writing a weekly column on everyone's favorite topic: DATA CENTERS
i'll be taking over the @wired.com sunday newsletter from now until the midterms to yap about all things DCs
it's going to be tons of fun (in MY opinion)!
i'll be taking over the @wired.com sunday newsletter from now until the midterms to yap about all things DCs
it's going to be tons of fun (in MY opinion)!
September 3, 2026 at 2:34 PM
some fun news: i'm going to be writing a weekly column on everyone's favorite topic: DATA CENTERS
i'll be taking over the @wired.com sunday newsletter from now until the midterms to yap about all things DCs
it's going to be tons of fun (in MY opinion)!
i'll be taking over the @wired.com sunday newsletter from now until the midterms to yap about all things DCs
it's going to be tons of fun (in MY opinion)!
NEW: the UN's weather and climate agency issued a stark and historic warning this morning about the supersized El Nino, issuing what it says is the most certain forecast in the history of the organization about the strength of the building phenomenon:
We’ve Got a ‘Supersized’ El Niño on Our Hands
The World Meteorological Organization is warning that the climate phenomenon that has the Pacific running a fever will last until at least February, with dire consequences for weather worldwide.
www.wired.com
September 3, 2026 at 1:07 PM
NEW: the UN's weather and climate agency issued a stark and historic warning this morning about the supersized El Nino, issuing what it says is the most certain forecast in the history of the organization about the strength of the building phenomenon:
Reposted by molly taft
Lucky for everyone, @mollytaft.com has you covered on both fronts:
You’re Thinking About AI and Water All Wrong
Fears about AI data centers’ water use have exploded. Experts say the reality is far more complicated than people think.
www.wired.com
September 1, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Lucky for everyone, @mollytaft.com has you covered on both fronts:
Reposted by molly taft
On the liberal/left, people love to point out how the water use fears re: data centers are overblown (true, to an extent). But goddamn, on the right, lemme tell ya, the whole “this is a Chinese psyop” narrative is *dominating* discourse these past few weeks
September 1, 2026 at 12:05 AM
On the liberal/left, people love to point out how the water use fears re: data centers are overblown (true, to an extent). But goddamn, on the right, lemme tell ya, the whole “this is a Chinese psyop” narrative is *dominating* discourse these past few weeks
Reposted by molly taft
I'm a staff writer at @wired.com and I'm looking to speak with parents of immunocompromised kids, especially those in areas with measles outbreaks, and how you're dealing with back to school with rising cases. [email protected]
August 26, 2026 at 4:59 PM
I'm a staff writer at @wired.com and I'm looking to speak with parents of immunocompromised kids, especially those in areas with measles outbreaks, and how you're dealing with back to school with rising cases. [email protected]
Reposted by molly taft
Something I try not to mix up is critique of people on the right with massive amounts of power and people on the right without it and this nails that.
I know the difference between the homophobes in my life and the homophobes controlling the government, our infrastructure, and our media.
I know the difference between the homophobes in my life and the homophobes controlling the government, our infrastructure, and our media.
WIRED’s @mollytaft.com joins @djrothkopf.bsky.social on SIliconsciousness to examine the rapid evolution of our politics — and why things are only getting weirder. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
August 28, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Something I try not to mix up is critique of people on the right with massive amounts of power and people on the right without it and this nails that.
I know the difference between the homophobes in my life and the homophobes controlling the government, our infrastructure, and our media.
I know the difference between the homophobes in my life and the homophobes controlling the government, our infrastructure, and our media.
LOVED this convo about the future of ai / data center politics, and the strange bedfellows developing between the left and the right in resisting Big Tech —
WIRED’s @mollytaft.com joins @djrothkopf.bsky.social on SIliconsciousness to examine the rapid evolution of our politics — and why things are only getting weirder. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
August 28, 2026 at 6:23 PM
LOVED this convo about the future of ai / data center politics, and the strange bedfellows developing between the left and the right in resisting Big Tech —
Reposted by molly taft
Really interesting conversation between @mollytaft.com & @djrothkopf.bsky.social touching on many of the aspects of AI in politics and the strange bedfellows that's producing. Really smart & in depth - now to read that @wired.com article.
WIRED’s @mollytaft.com joins @djrothkopf.bsky.social on SIliconsciousness to examine the rapid evolution of our politics — and why things are only getting weirder. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
youtu.be/wXzoms75-Zs
August 27, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Really interesting conversation between @mollytaft.com & @djrothkopf.bsky.social touching on many of the aspects of AI in politics and the strange bedfellows that's producing. Really smart & in depth - now to read that @wired.com article.
EXCLUSIVE: as data center opposition explodes into the midterms, more than 15 candidates running for office in states across the country have signed onto a new pact that pledges action to rein in both data centers and AI
Candidates Are Signing a Pact Promising Action on Data Centers and AI Safety
More than 15 politicians from across the country have signed on to the AI Pact, vowing to regulate data centers and AI. “We’ve got to get this right,” says Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn.
www.wired.com
August 26, 2026 at 5:27 PM
EXCLUSIVE: as data center opposition explodes into the midterms, more than 15 candidates running for office in states across the country have signed onto a new pact that pledges action to rein in both data centers and AI
Reposted by molly taft
just completely ridiculous numbers here
NEW: gas power in development in the US explicitly for data centers have nearly doubled in less than a year, soaring from 97GW at the end of 2025 to more than 189GW mid-2026, according to shocking new figures from @globalenergymon.bsky.social
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
Data Centers Are Driving an Alarming Gas Power Expansion in the US
There’s no clearer sign of the data center boom than rampant gas projects that have been proposed or that are already under construction.
www.wired.com
August 25, 2026 at 1:27 PM
just completely ridiculous numbers here
NEW: gas power in development in the US explicitly for data centers have nearly doubled in less than a year, soaring from 97GW at the end of 2025 to more than 189GW mid-2026, according to shocking new figures from @globalenergymon.bsky.social
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
Data Centers Are Driving an Alarming Gas Power Expansion in the US
There’s no clearer sign of the data center boom than rampant gas projects that have been proposed or that are already under construction.
www.wired.com
August 25, 2026 at 12:56 PM
NEW: gas power in development in the US explicitly for data centers have nearly doubled in less than a year, soaring from 97GW at the end of 2025 to more than 189GW mid-2026, according to shocking new figures from @globalenergymon.bsky.social
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
Reposted by molly taft
I stayed at a hotel near IAD in July and was thinking, wow there are a lot of data centers around here. Now I know that's the heart of the Virginia Data Center Alley.
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
www.wired.com
August 17, 2026 at 7:49 PM
I stayed at a hotel near IAD in July and was thinking, wow there are a lot of data centers around here. Now I know that's the heart of the Virginia Data Center Alley.