Last week, Governor Hochul signed an executive order (EO) placing a one-year pause or moratorium on new AI data centers across New York. This was WILD as it was the first time a state had passed a moratorium for new AI data center development … like ever! I remember Maine was trying to do something like this, but then their Governor vetoed it at the last minute.

I was watching the livestream from Governor Hochul’s website and was going ballistic at watching history unfold. The one-year moratorium establishes a regulatory framework with environmental impact assessments following to evaluate energy demand, water use, water quality, air quality, noise pollution, and other aspects.

The irony was that New York was not like the biggest data center market in the U.S. It’s not like Virginia or Texas, hence the move catching a lot of folks off guard. What people fail to realize is that the policy domino effect is about to unfold across party lines. I suspect what we will see are other blue states passing moratoriums in the near future, while red states may wait a little longer before making any major actions. 🤷 But who knows? Only time will tell what is the next state to do something. Get your Kalshi and Polymarket bets READDDYYYYY. 🎉

Chau 👋,

Nate

AI and Energy Security in a Rapidly Changing World - SDG Media Zone (AI & Energy): As governments assess SDG7 progress, global crises are driving a shift toward domestic renewables, boosting solar trade across Asia and Africa.

E48: Leveraging Home Energy Flexibility: A GridX & Podero Deep Dive (AI & Energy): Unlock the power of decentralized energy flexibility. gridX CEO Anne B. Bicking and Podero CEO Chris Bernkopf join host Greta Mayr to explore how homes are transforming into active energy hubs, balancing real-time grid constraints and capturing fresh financial rewards on the fast-paced intraday market.

TWiGS: The AI Water Management Challenge with Masheika Allgood (AI & Water Resources): This Week, hosts Tzviya and Kate are joined by AI ethicist Masheika Allgood to discuss the growing environmental impact of AI data centers through the lens of water use. Drawing on a new case study from Georgia, the conversation explores how communities can better understand the local effects of AI infrastructure, why transparency and public engagement matter, and what policymakers, developers, and residents should consider before new data centers are built.

From Promise to Practice: What Makes Community Benefits Agreements Enforceable? (AI & Social/Economic Impacts): Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are increasingly used to ensure that host communities receive tangible public benefits from infrastructure projects worldwide. By analyzing 72 CBAs across the United States for renewable energy, real estate, and other infrastructure projects, this paper identifies factors and mechanisms, such as monitoring structures, that support successful enforcement.

Surface-Engineered 3D Carbon-Inorganic Laminate Architectures for Enhanced Mass Transport in Long-Duration Soluble Lead Flow Batteries (AI & Energy): Conventional anodes in soluble lead flow batteries (SLFBs) experience unbalanced reaction kinetics and mass-transport limitations, which limit their scalability for long-duration energy storage. These findings underscore the potential of leveraging layered carbide materials for surface engineering to enhance performance and durability of SLFBs as well as other batteries facing mass transport limitations.

The Hidden Water Geography of U.S. Hyperscale Data Centers in the AI Era (AI & Water Resources): Water use by data centers is routinely reported as a single footprint, but water is consumed through two physically distinct pathways: at the site for cooling and in the power system that generates electricity. We mapped both pathways for 472 U.S. hyperscale facilities by linking facility locations to electricity regions, hydrologic basins, and water-stress data.

The AI Factory: Data Centers at the Heart of the Action (AI & Infrastructure): An architecture ebook on how data centers sit at the center of the AI buildout. Authoring Body: Schneider Electric.

Executive Order (EO) No 62: Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on Data Centers in New York (AI & Infrastructure): A temporary moratorium on new data centers in New York while the state develops higher standards for data center development and a benefits blueprint to support localities. Authoring Body: Governor's Office of New York.

Responsible Data Center Development Act (AI & Infrastructure): New York State Senate legislation setting standards for responsible data center development. Authoring Body: The New York State Senate.

Only 40 People in Europe Can Really Build AI Data Centers (AI & Multiple Applications): The European data center market faces a critical talent shortage: fewer than 40 people on the continent possess the deep operational experience needed to deliver at scale. While speculators chase headlines about AI infrastructure demand, the real bottleneck isn't capital; it's grid capacity, permitting delays, and a four-year build cycle that turns promising projects into multi-year slogs.

Climate Special: How Extreme Weather is Putting All of Us In Danger (AI & Climate Science & Research): With data suggesting that the heatwave in May and June alone killed around 2,700 people in England and Wales, and wildfires burning at home and in Europe, we bring you a special programme asking can Britain cope with the searing impact of this climate crisis. Climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution is making heatwaves more common and more intense, as all of us have experienced this year.

Can AI Be Sustainable? Boris Gamazaychikov on Data Centers & Energy | Live from Geneva (AI & Environmental Impact): Recorded live at the AI for Good Summit in Geneva, Sanjay Puri speaks with Boris Gamazaychikov, Co-founder of Sustainable AI Group, about one of the biggest challenges facing artificial intelligence: environmental sustainability.

Hypercerts Foundation (AI & Environment): Open-source protocols for funding and rewarding positive impact. Location: Other.

Octant Labs (AI & Environment): Octant funds impactful open source projects sustainably through decentralized finance. Location: Other.

Planted Solar (AI & Energy): Energy is the binding constraint on the world. Planted combines robotics, AI-driven design, and high-density terrain-following solar arrays into a single deployment platform, replacing slow, fragmented construction with a repeatable, automated system. Location: North America.

EnergyTag (AI & Energy): The real-time dashboard for next-generation energy markets. Tracking granular accounting, round-the-clock carbon-free energy, policy markets, and implementation globally. Price: FREE.

GeoLibre App (AI & Geospatial Analysis): A web-based GIS that runs in your browser with no installation, no download, and no login! It has become a go-to tool for daily geospatial work. Price: FREE.

Open Meteo (AI & Climate & Extreme Weather): Free weather forecast and historical weather API with 30+ models historical weather from 1940, no API key required. Price: FREE.

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. 🙃

You might be asking why the heck is this a meme? But then the irony in Polymarket posting about how much Gen Z electricians can make in the AI data center craze lol… 😆

Thanks for reading the 50th 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 👋.