I’m an elementary school science teacher and I’m developing a 3-lesson mini-curriculum to end a 4th and 5th grade ecosystems unit. I want to use the current events surrounding proposed data centers to power AI applications to help my students think about how technologies that they take for granted may disrupt ecosystems.
We’ll have one research class, then they’ll prepare their testimonies to the city council as “advisory scientists” before giving a mock presentation. I’m looking for any video or short articles that I can abridge to make age-appropriate for their reading comprehension to help them learn about where Seattle’s water and power come from, how and why data centers use water and power, consumption rates (I recall reading that in WA a 100-word AI-generated email can consume ~48 oz of potable water), and impacts on human health, pollution, wildlife, etc.
I want to try and offer balanced perspectives as much as possible – showing why these are being proposed and what different groups have to say. I’m fine with sharing biased sources (like conservation groups, for example) as long as I can offer a complementary perspective for them to compare.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated!!
submitted by /u/thezim0090
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