- [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by the Backlund Charitable Trust, established to educate and create awareness of environmental issues.

- Welcome to our latest edition of "EcoWatch" on WTVP.

I'm Mark Welp.

This program is dedicated to bringing you the latest environmental stories impacting our area and the state of Illinois.

We're going to introduce you to people finding unique ways to make the Land of Lincoln a better place for mankind and animals by protecting plants, water, soil, and crops.

Let's get started.

(bright dramatic music) (bright dramatic music continues) This episode, we look at how our consumption of computer data and artificial intelligence could impact our energy and water supply.

Learn how a major social media company is helping keep a central Illinois nuclear reactor in business.

Plus, meet a woman who lives a zero waste lifestyle and learn how you can do it too.

But first, a growing trend that has some environmentalist concerned: data centers.

These buildings can be a few hundred square feet all the way up to a million.

The three data centers in our area are tiny compared to most, but Illinois has the fourth most centers in the country and companies want to build more here.

I recently spoke to Laila Kearney, an energy reporter for Reuters News Agency based in New York City, to find out more.

So tell us a little bit more about how data centers work and why they need these massive amounts of electricity and water.

- Oh, sure.

Well, data centers have been around for decades.

They are like warehouses, essentially, that house servers and the electronics that support them.

And so a lot of the data centers that are in Silicon Valley and in Northern Virginia, which are the big, established, kind of legacy data center areas of the country, those ones are about, your typical data center is probably like 30 megawatts.

And now, data centers are being built to be about 1,000 megawatts, or they can be more than that, usually like a cluster of data centers at a single site.

But still, it's a lot more electricity at a single site.

And basically, over the last two years or so, there was a realization that generative AI, like ChatGPT, had become popular and that there were advancements in that that made it so that all of the big technology companies with like all of the money in the world realized that they needed to scale really fast.

The electricity that's being used at the data center comes from two main sort of components.

There's the compute side, so like the work that the data center, that the servers are doing.

So a lot of what's being built today is for these AI data centers, and those are in training mode by and large.

So there's the energy that goes to that.

And then as the work is being done, there's a lot of energy, electricity being used, and that creates a lot of heat and then that requires cooling.

So the cooling systems are the second component.

They require a lot of electricity as well.

- And I know some of these big data centers are using water, I guess, to kind of offset some of the electricity they use.

Tell us about water and how they use it and where it's coming from.

- Well, the cooling systems are, most of the data centers, big data centers that are being built today are being used with water cooling systems.

So there's that component of water being needed to basically remove the heat from the data centers.

So it's sort of like, basically the water is part of that whole cooling equation.

- We've got about 200 data centers in Illinois.

The majority are in the Chicago area.

And I know a lot of companies are wanting to get that water from Lake Michigan, which is a big water source, obviously.

So what are some of the concerns, not only with using our water, but electricity and things like that?

What are some environmental folks saying about that?

- There are concerns around sort of supply shortfalls.

That's a conversation in PJM, which is the big grid operator that covers part of Illinois, around we've just got so much demand, but the supply has come on so slowly that we are not gonna be able to sort of meet the demand, and therefore, you've got raised risks of outages and you've got rising electricity bills.

So there's that piece of it.

I know that's separate from the environmental side of things, but still along the lines of the electricity use.

Most of these data centers are still supported by the grid.

The grid is made up of about, like this is nationwide and it changes from region to region, but it's about 40% natural gas.

You've got maybe 15% coal.

So I mean, just more energy use, more emissions, that kind of thing.

Some data center developments are bringing on renewable power, that's solar and wind, which is carbon-free.

There have been some really like creative, kind of power purchase agreements, for instance, with Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania being resurrected, that nuclear power plant being resurrected in order to serve Microsoft's data centers in PJM.

Illinois has a ton of nuclear energy.

I think it has the most nuclear power capacity in the country.

So, but there's still the fossil fuel element.

As backup generation, some of these data centers are using diesel fired generators.

Those produce emissions that can be sort of a global warming concern, but also just like a local pollution concern.

And then some of them are being built with peaker plants that are, it seems like a lot of those are being built with natural gas.

- Well, with President Trump kind of pushing towards fossil fuel usage, you know, revving up coal mines, things like that.

Is that part of the issue too, how these data centers are being powered, and using maybe fossil fuels and things like that?

Here in Illinois, we're trying to get away from using, but now they're being put back online.

- Yeah, it's all connected.

Basically, once you link up with the grid, you're just getting whatever electrons are mixed up in that grid.

So you can't really decide necessarily as like a big power consumer, "I want all of this," you know, everything that I get is really just gonna be coming from this solar farm or nuclear power plant.

And so even, say, if a coal plant isn't being kept on for longer, like a retiring coal plant isn't being kept on for longer specifically to feed to a data center, the data center demand is just so huge that it's requiring more electricity to be used and that certainly is part of what the Trump administration is thinking is needing to just have more electricity, any kind of electricity, especially coal and gas and nuclear to sort of support those data centers, along with all the other electricity that's getting used every day by everybody else.

- Yeah, here in Illinois, our fall veto session is coming up and the House Speaker expects data center regulations to be on the agenda.

As you probably know, clean energy advocates want data center owners to use their own renewable energy for power, but on the other hand, there's worries that could scare off companies.

What have you seen across the country or in your area as far as states and municipalities dealing with some of these issues?

- There are more conversations at the grid operator level, at the state legislator level, to some degree, the federal level as well, about the large power users, the data centers, bringing their own power generation.

So it's called Additionality, but it's basically just, you're gonna use one gigawatt of power, well, we want you to basically fund the development of one gigawatt of additional power that will enter the grid at some point.

And so that's a conversation that's definitely happening more and more.

- The city of Aurora in Northern Illinois recently approved a temporary moratorium on data centers.

Some of the complaints and concerns were noise, vibrations, which people may not think about, air pollution, water consumption, and increasing utility bills.

Is this one of those things where we're using more AI, we're using computers more, we think we need them, maybe we do need them, but people are saying, "Yeah, but I don't want that in my backyard."

- Yeah.

Well, I think the data center build out is kind of interesting.

I think we're all still trying to track where it's happening and even though it's gonna increase the whole US power consumption and their share of demand on the grid is going to potentially triple over the next couple of years, according to national laboratories.

It's not gonna happen just like, everyone's gonna see data centers everywhere, it's gonna happen in specific communities.

So I think it makes sense that in those communities, where you do have these big buildings that may have peaker plants set up next to them and there are noise concerns and that kind of thing, that you would potentially have complaints.

And so yeah, it may be a bit of a, "Not in my backyard" issue and that is a rising concern for the data center industry is NIMBYism and that kind of pushback.

They're trying to figure out how to address that.

But yes, it does seem like it is gonna be an increasing sort of NIMBY issue.

- Where do you see data centers in the future, in terms of where they're built, how they're built, and how they might affect the environment?

- We're all really watching to see how it plays out and there's a lot of development happening in the Midwest and in the South.

So I think those will be, and in the Southwest, to some degree, like in the state of Arizona.

So right now, it's like, "Okay, where are the data centers going to be?

Where are the new hubs gonna emerge?"

I think that the backup power supply piece of it will be something to watch and especially with the, I spoke with Energy Secretary Chris Wright last week, Reuters interviewed him, and the Trump administration is interested in using backup power generation more as like a sort of steadier piece of power supply on the grid.

Right now, it's just sort of a very temporary thing.

So that's interesting to me.

- All right, Laila Kearney, energy reporter with Reuters in New York City.

We appreciate your insight on this.

- Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Speaking of needing more power, Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has signed a 20 year agreement to buy electricity from the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant south of Bloomington.

Meta says it will use the power to meet the demands of artificial intelligence.

When the plant was in danger of closing in 2017, the state passed the Future Energy Jobs Act that would keep the plant open until 2027.

The Meta deal will begin in 2027.

Nuclear power is cleaner than coal and gas, but like you just heard in our data center story, critics have environmental and energy bill concerns.

The plant employs more than 500 people and contributes more than $13 million in taxes annually.

More charging locations are coming to central Illinois for your electric cars.

35 electric vehicle charging stations are coming to McLean, Logan, and Livingston counties thanks to part of an $18 million federal grant.

Here's a list on your screen of where the charging stations will be installed.

The state government hopes to provide more charging options to drivers along I-55 and I-74, generate economic development, and advance the goal of having one million EVs registered in Illinois by 2030.

The funding comes from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law signed by former President Biden.

All of these locations will receive at least four charging stations.

The Wally's in Pontiac will get 12.

If you're watching this program, it's probably because you're concerned about the environment.

You may recycle or take your own reasonable bags to the grocery store, but there's always more we can do.

Well, I talked with one woman who has changed her entire lifestyle to benefit the environment and her health.

If you will start off by telling us a little bit about what a zero waste lifestyle is.

- A zero waste lifestyle would be a lifestyle where your purchases would be less packaging, ultimately things that will not end up in a landfill.

Something to think about in the forefront of your mind every single time you make a purchase.

Is it biodegradable?

That's the goal.

- Okay.

And when did you start this zero waste lifestyle?

- Oh gosh, I'd say about four years ago.

- [Mark] Okay.

What spurred that on?

- I became increasingly concerned about the massive amount of plastic in our household.

Growing up on a farm, we didn't have much plastic.

We gardened and things and it just, it didn't seem right to me.

I was growing increasingly aware of all the chemicals that are in the plastic and then, you know, plastic not ever leaving the environment.

If you buy something that's in plastic, all the toxins from the plastic, you know, leaching in.

So I detoxed our house room by room.

I replaced the things with plastic, or, and nine times out of 10, didn't even need that item to begin with.

- Well some people, you know, they may recycle, they may take their own bags to the grocery store, and that's it.

But I would say you're all in on this.

Give us some examples of what you do and what you don't do to lead this lifestyle.

- What I don't do is shop pretty much your typical, normal lifestyle shopping.

I will take two kinds of shopping bags with me.

This one will be for your produce and things.

Bulk.

I pick out items never in packaging.

This would be for planning a few meals at a time for my household.

This would be for flour, cornmeal, things like that.

Nuts.

Things that, of course, would not be good in a mesh type bag.

These are 100% organic, washable.

They get machine washed after every trip to the grocery store.

This would come from gravity bins or scoop bins.

This, buying a pound of bacon or a pound of ground sirloin or things.

I take my own container to the deli.

They put the sticker on top of my container here, only buy what we need.

I don't buy anything packaged, prepackaged.

Then you get into your packaging and your plastic, which is leaching out items.

- So in addition to not using plastic, I mean, you're kind of looking out for your health too by not buying these things that are full of preservatives and things like that.

- Absolutely.

- All right, why don't you show us some other examples of what you have here.

- Okay.

Canning jars are wonderful.

You can use them as vases, drinking glasses, of course to can in and freeze in too.

I use the wide mouth to freeze, cook beets, and we have a garden, so that's a big thing.

This is a, if you wanna give a gift, little cloth napkin here.

This is some laundry soap that I use and make for our household.

- What are the ingredients in that?

- The ingredients are bar soap.

This is unscented bar soap because if a fragrance is synthetic, it's toxic to our endocrine system.

Grated bar soap, baking soda, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and borax powder.

And borax comes from mountains.

It's a salt.

- [Mark] You can do a lot of things with that, right?

Not just- - You can, you can.

I use it for- - What else can you use it besides laundry?

- Pre-soak for laundry, too.

- Okay.

- Baking soda, that's all we use to clean with.

You can use half a lemon to clean your toilet.

Your sinks, your toilets.

I make, this is a glass jar here.

If I need window cleaner, I make window cleaner.

- Have you ever figured out, I mean I know you're doing this for your health and the environment, but have you ever figured out how much money you're saving by doing this?

- I'd say about 40, about 40% off of my regular household income.

- Wow.

- First of all, just by buying what you need, and not overstocking, we tend to overbuy things.

If our freezer's not full, if our, you know, it's much healthier to buy fresh and you're not, you're just spending on what you need.

And for every purchase that we make, you know, we ask ourselves, number one, do we need this item?

You know, a lot of times, it's gonna be no.

So that's gonna save you a lot of money right there.

- Sure.

- We do tend to over shop.

- Tell me about this.

- This is coconut oil.

This is what we bathe in, wash our hair and everything else.

Need a hair conditioner.

Just put a little coconut oil on and run it through your hair a little bit.

- Really, you don't have to go and buy that $25 bottle of- - You do not.

- Okay.

- Are refillable even, because that goes a long ways and you can use coconut oil for cooking and everything else, so.

- Interesting.

And you have some sunscreen there?

- I have some sunscreen.

Comes in a recyclable metal container.

- [Mark] What's special about that?

- You can recycle the metal container, but it is only zinc.

It doesn't have, and it's white, but goes on clear.

And it's really, it lasts about two years, according to the date.

It doesn't have all of those other cancer causing ingredients that you see on the plastic tube, I should say.

- Sure.

Have toothbrush there.

- Those are toothbrushes, this particular one is bamboo handle with plant-based bristles.

That's the key.

A lot of companies are coming out with bamboo handles or wooden handles, but they still have plastic bristles and we're rubbing that on our teeth and everything, so it's- - And just out of curiosity, with something like that, how does that price compare to, say, an average toothbrush that someone's gonna buy at the store?

- It might be a little higher.

I'm not sure.

- Okay.

- I'm not sure.

You know, we just, we buy what we need to buy.

With all the money that we save by making our own laundry soap, not buying any expensive cleaning ingredients, making our window cleaner, I mean, you know, it's just, it's amazing.

It's an amount that you will notice if you make a lot of changes, you'll notice it for sure.

I keep one of these in my purse.

We don't buy any Kleenex.

Each person has a cloth napkin.

We use it for, you know, two or three days.

- Okay.

- It goes in the laundry.

- So no paper towels?

- Goes in the laundry.

Correct.

Winter white, the only kind of, the only color and kind of plate that doesn't have non-toxic dyes and things in it.

Again, taking that to the store.

- What else do you do in your house?

Anything with utilities, things like that?

- We don't have a clothes dryer.

Everything gets air dried.

Nothing, there's nothing extra.

No ice maker, no garbage disposal, battery powered lawn mower.

You know, it's not- - I'm sorry, go ahead.

- If it's not needed, we don't have it.

- Do you do anything that people may look at you kind of side eyed, like, "Are you sure you should be doing that or you wanna be doing that?"

- Well, we have, I have more than one person in my household, but I use reusable cloth toilet paper, so that can be washed and things.

Now not everybody in my household's on board with that, (laughs) but I do and whoever wants to uses it, they have their own, it's washed in hot water, that type of thing.

The amount of resources that we're using up for this packaging and for our paper products is just, you know, it's too much.

I mean, our earth is stressed now, so I want to do my part in, you know, reeling it back in.

Marketing has taken us so far away and making us think we need this and we need that and we need, you know, it's just.

- And I guess it's important to read labels too, you know, on something- - Absolutely.

- You may say, "Hey, this is green" or "this is dye-free," but it may still have other things in there that you don't want your body- - I stay away from big companies.

I do.

Your little companies, your out of the way companies that you probably never heard of that really do have our health and our earth in their best interest is, you know, is generally the right way to go.

But you do have to do research.

- Is there anything that you're not doing right now that you would like to do in the future?

- I think I'm doing all that I can.

Honestly.

I'm doing all that I can.

I read everything I could get my hands on for a year and I feel that, and you know, different things are gonna work for different people, but I think we can do more and for people who think, "Well, I recycle."

Well, you know, that's not enough.

Recycling was invented by, guess who?

The plastic companies.

It's an old concept from the '70s and we're still falling for it and we've got more and more plastic and more and more plastic and more and more plastic, and, you know.

(sighs) I refuse it.

- But it's better than nothing, right?

I mean, you should still recycle?

- Well, I would have to have an example of the nothing, you know, because we can refuse a lot.

- Yeah.

So do you recycle anything?

Is there anything to recycle?

- Yes.

If there's a soda can.

We don't buy in plastic, so if there's a soda can, you know, of course that can be recycled.

Glass.

I mean, that's a, you know.

If, let's say this has a crack in it, you know, well, this is a natural thing made of sand, so it can be recycled.

- All very interesting stuff here.

Anything else?

- If I need water to go, this is my water bottle.

- Yeah, you don't have to go to a box store and buy a $25 container.

- Nope.

- What else would you like folks to know that we haven't talked about yet?

- We can do a lot more, I think, than what we are.

I think a lot of people who are on the path of zero waste or they wanna do more but they don't know what to do.

And hopefully these examples and things will get people to thinking, "Gee, I can do that."

And it's not expensive.

So, we need to do more.

- Finally, congratulations to the University of Illinois Solar Car team.

The team won its first ever national race over the summer.

The car Calypso is powered by solar panels.

The team drove it 700 miles around a Kentucky racetrack completing a record breaking 223 laps.

The Illinois State University team came in eighth.

Thanks for joining us for "EcoWatch."

If you'd like to watch again, share with a friend, or watch past episodes, just look for us at wtvp.org.

I'm Mark Welp.

See you again soon.

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) - [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by the Backlund Charitable Trust, established to educate and create awareness of environmental issues.