First of all, where on earth did the new subscribers come from?! 😄 Holy crap, heyyyyy! 👋

I didn't even know that we had a total of 700+ subscribers for the newsletter until I checked my stats randomly over the weekend and I thought I was hallucinating.

Uh… welcome! This is The Climate Code and we cover the latest additions to the AI & Environment Resource Hub database which lies at the intersection of AI, data centers, and environmental impact. We’re weekly releasing every 7AM EST on a Monday and it’s a curated list of the top additions that I source from LinkedIn and the rest of the interwebz.

Other note:

For those of you that celebrate, happy July 4! 🎆 🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆

For those of you that don’t know what the heck is going on, it was July 4 celebrating the 250th birthday of the USA over the weekend. It was such a nightmare on the Saturday tho. First of all, the temperature was like 100F (38C for our European colleagues lol) but with the humidity, it felt like 110F! Second, the schedule of the celebrations was wonky as heck. You had to start lining up at 5PM-6PM or something for the President’s speech and the fireworks to get into a small area. Oh, by the way, you couldn’t bring coolers, chairs, metal water bottles (which was kinda weird?), etc.

Then, the thunderstorm happened which temporarily had evacuations to the nearest museums until 9PM-ish? We had performances afterwards until 11PM which is when the speech happened for a good 45 minutes? Finally, the fireworks started off at midnight (which was technically July 5th at that point lol). Andddd on Sunday (when I am writing this), we have an air quality warning because of the fireworks last night lol.

Needless to say, I was hunkered down next to the AC unit in my apartment munching on dinner and enjoying the fireworks. Have a good Monday y’all!

Chau 👋,

Nate

Fusion Energy: Wishing Upon A Star in a Jar (AI & Energy): Fusion has long been the holy grail of clean energy —perpetually promising, perpetually out of reach. But dozens of startups are getting closer to harnessing the reactions that power the sun and stars. We go inside two Washington state fusion companies leading the charge with Helion Energy and Zap Energy and break down their technologies without requiring a physics degree.

Stop Hugging Trees, Start Fixing P&L: A New Playbook for Climate Action (AI & Environment): In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen talk with Maze Works Founder and CEO Milene Pardo Figueroa about shifting sustainability from theory and reporting to real, project-based action.

Why AI Data Centers Have a Water Problem: Stanford's Newsha Ajami (AI & Water Resources): Every time you ask ChatGPT a question, a data center somewhere uses water to cool its servers. Most people have no idea, and neither do the utilities supplying that water. Hydrologist Newsha Ajami, founding director of Stanford's GR3 program, traces water through the hidden seams of the economy — from the electricity charging your phone to the chips powering the AI boom.

Environmental Impacts of AI (AI & Environment): The global proliferation of AI is accompanied by significant debate regarding its net environmental consequences. This paper does much to reveal AI's hidden material dependencies. Authors: Lauren Bridges. Journal: Oxford Academic.

The AI Data Center Water Management Challenge: A Georgia Case Study (AI & Water Resources): AI data centers have become a flashpoint for community activism across the US and around the world, much of it centered on the enormous resources these facilities consume. This paper focuses on the impact of Scope 1 data center water use on water infrastructure in the State of Georgia. Authors: Allgood et al. Journal: DataedX.

Mineral Demand from AI Data Centers: Infrastructure Intensity, Processing Bottlenecks, and Supply Competition (AI & Data Centers/Hardware/Model): This paper demonstrates that the AI buildout's demand for critical materials is driven primarily by bulk infrastructure requirements, using a bottom-up model to quantify the effect across 20 materials through 2035. Authors: Amoah et al. Journal: ScienceDirect.

Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI (AI Policy & Governance): The inaugural preliminary assessment from the UN's newly formed scientific panel, laying groundwork for international consensus on AI's risks and governance. Authoring Body: UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.

2026 Google Environmental Report (AI & Sustainability): Google's annual accounting of its emissions, energy, and water footprint as AI workloads reshape its infrastructure demand. Authoring Body: Google.

2025 Amazon Sustainability Report (AI & Sustainability): Amazon's yearly report on progress toward its climate commitments across operations, data centers, and supply chain. Authoring Body: Amazon.

Prof Heng Wang on Governing AI's Environmental Impact (AI & Environmental Impact): Keynote on governing AI's environmental impact by Heng Wang, Professor of Law at Singapore Management University, delivered at CCE's roundtable at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge on 5 May 2026.

Burden or Asset? Navigating the Community Impact of Data Centers - Adam Wierman, Caltech (AI & Multiple Applications): Caltech's Carl F Braun Professor Adam Wierman argues that data centers aren't just the problem, they're also exposing weaknesses in aging infrastructure and can provide funding and incentives for modernization.

How the Right Investments Remove Carbon and Add Community Trust | Brandon Middaugh, Microsoft (AI & Climate Policy): In this episode of Future in Bloom, Steph sits down with Brandon Middaugh, GM of Microsoft's Sustainable Markets and Climate Innovation Fund, for a conversation about climate investing and community-first AI.

RE24 (AI & Energy): We provide hourly-matched renewable energy for datacentres and other businesses. Location: United Kingdom.

Amperesand (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): Medium-voltage power conversion solutions enabling fast, efficient, and resilient electrification for critical power consumers like AI datacenters and industrial loads — combining next-generation Solid State Transformers, cutting-edge controls, and AI-first software. Location: Asia.

DG Matrix (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): DG Matrix is redefining how the world powers AI and electrification. Location: North America.

Modelverse (AI & Energy): The world's first marketplace for energy system models and data. Explore, download, and collaborate with the community. Price: Freemium.

OSDCI Pipeline (AI & Infrastructure): A geospatial ML pipeline for identifying optimal data center siting locations across the continental United States. Part of the OSDCI project, built by Gabriel Arnold. FREE.

OpenMaps (AI & Geospatial Analysis): Tell it what you want to see on a map in plain language. OpenMaps connects hundreds of open data sources worldwide, builds the map, and gives you a link to share. Ready in a minute. Price: Freemium.

If you have resources that you wish to submit to the AI & Environment Resource Hub, fill out the Google Form! Thank you for suggesting resources to add to the Resource Hub. 🙃

Since it was July 4 over the weekend (for those that celebrated here in the U.S.), check out this cute data center/fireworks meme:

Thanks for reading the 48th issue of The Climate Code! It means a lot to me and we have more coming in the future, so definitely stick around! 💚

Nate

PS 😁

New here? I would recommend checking out Data Center Battlegrounds (our YouTube channel focusing on the environmental impacts of data centers) and also the AI & Environment Resource Hub itself.

PPS 😆

If you’re feeling EXTRA GUTSY, connect with me here on LinkedIn! Say hey 👋.