Data Centers Use Less Water Than Almond Farms—and Do More Good
Data centers are often criticized for their water and energy usage, but recent comparisons show they use significantly less water than almond farms. While some argue that data centers do not provide tangible benefits like food production, they are essential for supporting the modern economy and advancing technologies like AI. The debate continues as advocates highlight the economic advantages of data centers despite public concerns.
- ▪Data centers consume only 46 million gallons of water per day, compared to 4.2 billion gallons used by California's almond farms.
- ▪Critics argue that data centers do not provide as many jobs or tangible benefits as agricultural production.
- ▪Data centers are crucial for the modern economy, enabling advancements in AI and technology that improve various aspects of life.
3 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 24 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: lean right. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ Why Data Centers Could Be Good for Your Hometown — Real Clear Politics
- ▪ Why Data Centers Could Be Good for Your Hometown — RealClearPolitics - Homepage
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| Original publisher | Reason.com |
| Canonical URL | https://reason.com/2026/05/20/data-centers-use-less-water-than-almond-farms-and-do-more-good/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 20 May 2026 13:45:21 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-20T13:50:02.598Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-20T13:58:25.159Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | J92S1e3tBCkE · 3 stories |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Utah Data Center Data Centers Use Less Water Than Almond Farms—and Do More Good Left and right, the arguments against data centers are incredibly weak—and even suspicious. Robby Soave | 5.20.2026 9:45 AM Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google Media Contact & Reprint Requests <img src="https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2026/05/Almond-Data_Centers-5-19-800x450.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto" width="1200" height="675" title="Data centers with almonds above them" alt="Data centers with almonds above them | Adani Samat/Envato" /> Data centers (Adani Samat/Envato) Opposition to data centers is all the rage among populists of all stripes. On the left, Sen.
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