Author: axworthy

By: Joseph Axworthy, Junior Writing and Media Major

In my last blog, I talked about the need to look for ways that we can help preserve our planet to balance GenAI’s huge environmental footprint. However, looking for ways to get involved can feel laborious, so as an Alabama resident, I’ve done the work for you. Here are five ways that Alabamians can get involved in helping keep our planet healthy. 

1. The Alabama River Alliance (ARA) is an organization that focuses on keeping the rivers of Alabama clean and ecologically healthy.

Why is this important? 

In order to sustain AI’s workload data centers need to use water to cool their servers. Large data centers can use as much as 5 million gallons of water a day, preserving water sources can help combat these huge costs. Alabama has few laws that help protect the immense amount of biodiversity that the state holds in its fresh water sources. ARA fills the role of a governmental agency to help advocate for clean water and riverways throughout the state. 

What can I do? 

• Stay informed by looking through their website and following their calendar
• Keep up to date about project marvel s on their Data Centers page
• Join their Zoom Talks to learn about recent events like Project Marvel
• Help them lobby during their Rivers of Alabama Day
• Donate to help keep our rivers clean and healthy

2. Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP) is a non-profit that’s focused on keeping Alabama’s air clean through education.

Why is this important?
Data centers are a huge consumer of energy. The US uses fossil fuels for around 82% of their energy which produces large amounts of air pollutants. GASP helps not only advocate against bills that allow the release of pollutants into the air but also works on a community level, educating people on the topic. 

What can I do? 

• Read up on their News & Updates page
• Sign their petitions to help increase clean energy 
• Volunteer by applying through their portal 
• Donate to help advocate for clean air

3. The Fresh Water Land Trust is focused on two goals: Conserving land and connecting the Red Rock Trail System through Jefferson County.

Why is this important?

With the increased demand for datacenters we have seen an uptick in deforestation. The Fresh Water Land Trust’s goals to help conserve important land with native species grows more important with every center built. Their efforts can also help protect land that houses native species from being available for the data centers to be built on. 

What can I do? 

• Read about conservation on their webpage 
• Join their “Adopt a Trail” to help keep trails near you clean
• Volunteer to one of their Group Workdays  
• Join their “Fresh Water Fans” group and receive merch with a monthly donation.

4. Keep Alabama Beautiful is an organization that believes everyone should have clean and healthy living environments.

Why is this important?
Keeping communities clean and healthy is a great way to make a difference without going far. Fighting pollution locally can help keep your city clean and green. 

What can I do? 

• Keep up to date via their website on projects around your city
• Apply to get free resources to clean your neighborhood 
• Join their “Adopt a Mile” program to keep a mile stretch clean in your county 
• Keep up with their calendar to join one of their Planting Weeks or Beautification Days

5. The University of Alabama at Birmingham  Sustainability (UAB) offers ways for students and faculty to get involved in sustainability as well. 

Why is this important? 

UAB as one of the largest employers in Alabama has a major impact on the environment. Making sure there are available resources for students and faculty to educate themselves and utilize is important. Oftentimes students and workers have busy schedules, having an option on campus makes getting involved easy and accessible. 

What Can I Do?

• Keep up to date with events on their “Get Involved” page 
• Read about  sustainability projects UAB is involved in on Sustainability News
• Volunteer through one of UAB’s partners on hands on or research projects
• Apply to become a Sustainability Ambassador to advocate for sustainability on campus 
• Participate in “Move Out, Don’t Throw Out” donating dorm household items instead of throwing them away after move out. 

The Big Picture 

As data centers greedily drink our water and we clear another 100 acres of forest, preserving our environment has never been more important. I know that most of us live busy lives; we work, study, and maintain relationships. But taking just a few hours from our schedules to volunteer or support a bill to preserve our future is worth it. So write it on a to-do-list, plan to volunteer with friends, or set an alarm on your phone to remind you to call lawmakers and advocate for environmental protection. Now you have the knowledge of where to go and what you can do. All that’s left is to act. 

A dirt road created by a power company cutting hundreds of native plants in the process at my family’s farm in Brazil.

By: Joseph Axworthy, Junior Writing and Media Major

I can still smell the smoke of machinery and hear the whirring of chainsaws, watching as a power company plowed through thousands of native trees in order to put up cables that I would never even see the benefit of. I was living on a farm in Brazil watching it all happen. It was the first time that I really witnessed deforestation. That event was formative in the way that I look at the world around me and how my actions affect the environment. However, a lot of people in Alabama haven’t really had to experience a similar event, and that can make these issues seem far off and in turn easy to ignore.  But with the rise of GenAI and large language models (LLM), that’s all changing and at a rapid pace. One example of this change is “Project Marvel,”a 4.5 million square foot data center that is planned to be built in Bessemer, AL.

The data center is projected to be one of the largest in the United States. Along with building the massive concrete structures, the project would occupy 700 acres of land to accommodate the buildings. This would mean the deforestation of thousands of native trees and destruction of animal habitats and ecosystems. Along with the destruction of flora and fauna, the residents of the area have also voiced their concerns. Many are worried about losing their peaceful green space for a concrete jungle of servers and cooling systems. 

This is a tragedy that’s happening not just in Bessemer but all over the United States. Texas data centers have already been reported to be causing issues with droughts due to their high water consumption. GenAI and LLMs are a big contributor to the increase in data center construction, including Project Marvel. In order to function, Gen AI  requires a massive amount of memory to run the complex calculations needed to be able to deliver its responses. This also means that it contributes in a large way to energy consumption. Some estimates state that a ChatGPT request can use as much as 10 times the amount of energy as a google search. Since around 82% of United States energy comes from fossil fuels, this increase in energy use is obviously very bad for the environment. This increased need for energy means plants like James H. Miller, Jr. Electric Generating Plant located around Birmingham might be pumping more air pollutants into our city’s air.

But what can we do? Do we refuse to use AI and start filling out paper forms at the dentist again? By “going paperless” as a society and relying on cloud computing, we no longer depend on storing information on forms in filing cabinets. Instead, we rely on storing information in data centers which requires a perpetual output of energy. From government websites to ordering foods and medications, so much of our lives use digital, cloud-based data that needs to be stored somewhere. Not only would it be incredibly difficult to undo this digital infrastructure, but it’s unlikely that anyone would vote for it.

For that reason, the solution to AI’s environmental impact can’t be to simply stop using it or stop storing so much digital data but to be more intentional on how we care for the environment. If we are destroying forests to build data centers, we need to increase green spaces in cities. If we are upping our energy consumption, we need to be using cleaner options of energy and finding more efficient cooling methods. The solution lies in trying to be more conscious about environmental solutions that can help balance the damage we are causing. We should also try to be intentional about making the process that we already have established more sustainable. For example, we could use closed loop water cooling to combat evaporation loss in data centers or switch to more renewable energies like wind and solar to power these massive structures.

Trying to figure out what we as individuals can do is daunting, but there are options out there available to us. Oftentimes reading about pollutants and deforestation is hard, but life goes on after we put the article down. We worry about finals, we let our mind fall into a hum as we go through our nine-to-fives. But it’s harder to ignore when it’s happening right in our city. However Alabama, and Birmingham specifically, have a variety of programs and organizations that focus on conservation , sustainability, and keeping our water sources clean. The Alabama Rivers Alliance org is currently looking into these data centers specifically Project Marvel.Even outside of volunteering, we should begin supporting campaigns that work with clean energy and public transit like the Green New Deal for Birmingham developed by the group GASP. 

Ultimately it’s unlikely that the continued expansion of data centers is going to stop. But as the trees in our state are chopped down to accommodate our ever growing need for storage, we all have a responsibility to try and do our part in keeping our future green.

Look for more in my next post about the concrete ways you can get involved in promoting environmental protection in Birmingham.

By: Joseph Axworthy, Junior Writing and Media Major

The rise of GenAI in the work and academic setting is controversial. When we are asked to choose between the exploitation of people and planet or streamlining that email to Becky who’s two cubicles down, the answer seems obvious. Then why do so many people still choose the latter? One answer to this is that people lack information about the negative effects of GenAI. Educators and businesses alike have raised concerns about the use of GenAI and if it diminishes people’s capacity to create original content. And while that is a valid concern, it dwarfs in comparison to the many other ethical issues that arise when using it. The academic community doesn’t seem to bring up issues like its energy consumption, carbon footprint, and the exploitation of people across the globe, which is a problem.

While initially I had hoped to ignore GenAI completely, I quickly learned that was not going to be an option. My classes not only exposed me to it but also taught me to use GenAI in an ethical manner that maintained academic integrity and credibility. The following semesters, I even had classes that required its use for some projects. By the end of the semester, I still felt conflicted but had a much better understanding of how GenAI could be used even in my own writing.  Regardless of how I felt initially, it was evident that it could be a useful tool, especially with the growing expectations of efficiency in the corporate world. 

Despite having an understanding and ability to use Gen AI to create better works more efficiently, it still feels wrong to me. Academics’ pushback against it is heavily rooted in credibility and if the works produced by GenAI can be seen as original content. Universities set guidelines on its usage to help with the issue of original content, but this does little to help with the problems that GenAI poses through sustainability and exploitation . Since the academic guidelines on AI use don’t take sustainability issues into account, this means students are unlikely to think about the environmental and exploitative effects of using GenAI. Most people using it probably don’t even know that they are contributing towards them at all. 

Unfortunately, it’s here to stay, and it’s useful to the hyper-efficient culture of many workplaces. It would be a lie to claim that GenAI doesn’t show exceptional potential in streamlining work, especially in writing fields. The further that I get into my degree at UAB the more I feel like GenAI is pushed and encouraged more and more, and I’m sure the future workforce will be no different. This semester, pushing back against GenAI feels like a losing battle. I can’t say no to GenAI like I might to a plastic bag at the store. It’s created a choice: limit myself by taking longer to complete tasks that could be streamlined with AI or abandon some of my morals and use tools that I know are contributing to unethical causes. 

While there doesn’t seem to be a remedy for this looming feeling of dread, I believe that it’s important for everyone who uses GenAI to be at least aware of the effects. We should push to find alternative ways of streamlining tasks and finding healthy mediums of boosting our efficiency that are less problematic in the long run. In the meantime, the best we can do is to educate ourselves on the topic as it becomes a part of our day-to-day life.