Spot birds not golf

Suggestion for hyperscalers feeling pressure over data center water use:

Buy up a few exclusive country clubs, convert the golf courses into public parks, pay for guides and binoculars to get the previous members into birdwatching - help them embrace a more sustainable hobby!

Google https://sustainability.google/reports/google-2026-environmental-report/">used 10.9 billion gallons in 2025, so about 30 million gallons per day.

The Coachella Valley has https://www.cvwd.org/167/Water-Conservation">120 golf courses each using ~800 acre-feet per year, which is ~750,000 gallons per day.

So Google buying up 40 of those courses (1/3) should do the trick.

Tags: https://simonwillison.net/tags/ai-energy-usage">ai-energy-usage, https://simonwillison.net/tags/ai">ai