Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Author: Adelaide Ellerbeck

Environmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public HealthSustainabililty
Adelaide Ellerbeck

Silent Sacrifice: Communities Paying the Price for Green Technology

Cobalt is an essential mineral for lithium ion batteries which are used in everyday technologies from electric vehicles to smart phones. Most of the world’s cobalt comes from the Dominican Republic of Congo which has extensive mining operations that contribute to environmental degradation. Artisanal miners are used and often exploited for their labour which exacerbate pollution by bringing it into urban environments. Local communities end up suffering from health issues because of this pollution.

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Environmental ScienceSustainabililty
Adelaide Ellerbeck

AI’s Water Footprint: The Environmental Price of Innovation

AI models have a huge water footprint that most people do not even consider when they use generative AI. Behind every chatbot response or image generated lies the hidden cost of fresh water. Training and running large AI models like GPT-3 can consume millions of liters of freshwater, from cooling servers to producing electricity. This ‘thirst’ is often overlooked on multiple fronts, by consumers as well as industries because companies rarely report their full water use across data centers, electricity generation, and hardware manufacturing. Without greater transparency and sustainable practices, the rapid growth of generative AI challenges global water scarcity at a time access to clean water is already under threat.

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