近距离内射合集

The carbon footprint we didn鈥檛 ask for

While Meta (aka Facebook) touts the economic impacts of its data center expansion in Los Lunas, it's obvious (or not, depending on your sources) that the environmental impacts far outweigh any economic benefit. These include the over 75 million gallons of water drawn for the data center annually, at a time when the Rio Grande and other water sources are critically low from drought caused by climate change, which in turn is driven by fossil-fuel power generation 鈥� the other big impact of data centers.

Thanks in part to billions in federal subsidies for artificial intelligence, one study found that by 2028 AI will consume over 50% of data-center power budgets 鈥� as much as the electricity used by a quarter of all U.S. households. Meanwhile, the majority of U.S. renewable energy projects are stalled due to the elimination of federal funding previously authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Although Meta states that the 600 megawatts of power for this data center is powered by renewables, any clean energy generated is sorely needed to offset fossil-fuel emissions to avoid irreversible climate change. Moreover, data centers still use fossil fuel power when intermittent renewables may not be available. To make matters worse, the actual amount of power and other resources consumed by data centers is not fully disclosed, since there is no regulation requiring greater transparency.

With AI being the default tool for billions of daily online searches, whether a user wants it or not, its carbon footprint is already unnecessarily huge. If Meta and other platforms wanted to be truly sustainable rather than "greenwashing," they would make AI optional and only when chosen by the user, not as the default.

So, think again when you log into Facebook or use AI 鈥� and your impact on the environment and your children's future.

Michael Wright

Glen Rock, Pennsylvania 

Congress should fully fund Forest Service 

New Mexicans are no strangers to wildfire threats, and sadly those threats have materialized more and more often in the past year. Just in the last month, areas including McCauley Springs and Tres Piedras have experienced the first-hand impact of these cataclysmic events. As fires continue to rage across the Southwest, I am grateful for the hard work of the U.S. Forest Service. The USFS has braved the fires and the smoke to protect our communities and make it possible for people to return to their homes after an evacuation.

However, this is all happening while the current administration is looking to cut crucial funding for the Forest Service. Without this funding, we should expect immediate impacts to how wildfires are responded to, including what level of staff and resources will be available when a disaster strikes. Without a robustly supported Forest Service, New Mexico communities will lack the appropriate operational assets to combat wildfires as they happen. Our people and our natural world will both suffer for this decision.

I am urging our members of Congress to fight for healthy funding for the Forest Service for 2027 fiscal year. An investment in our Forest Service means a healthier, safer community for all New Mexicans, and a proactive approach to protecting what is important to us before disaster strikes. The USFS are our priceless partners in combating wildfires; let's make sure they have everything they need to do their jobs successfully.

Sarah Hayes

Los Alamos

Commission made correct decision on mosque

Hats off to the many local residents who came to a meeting of the Bernalillo County Planning Commission meeting to show support for religious freedom. Now a proposed Islamic mosque can proceed. And compliments to the commission who opposed the appeal by the North Valley group who displayed bigotry and fear while hiding behind a facade of "I don't want my rural neighborhood to ever, ever change." Life is all about change and learning to live with others who don't look or worship exactly like we do.

Elizabeth Ziers

Albuquerque

Native students strengthen law school 

The recent letter from a fellow University of New Mexico School of Law graduate expressing a narrow view of the admission of Native Americans and other underrepresented students to the law school was deeply disappointing. While I could leave it to those with the data and historical record to respond, I cannot let that letter stand as the last word about members of our legal community.

The writer graduated in the early years of UNM Law School's efforts to make legal education more relevant to the entire New Mexico community. I graduated 13 years later, when those efforts were on much firmer footing. My graduating class included about a dozen Native American students, many of whom went on to provide important, even groundbreaking, legal services both within their tribal communities and beyond. Some became leaders in their fields.

I especially remember one Hopi student who was a year behind me and the first member of his tribe to attend law school. Some of his elders opposed his decision. As a young man, he was expected to return home frequently to participate in ceremonies essential to his culture and identity, and he did so while pursuing a demanding legal education. I had, and still have, deep admiration for him.

My Native classmates were every bit as capable as the rest of us. They were well prepared to succeed in law school, and they did. They also strengthened our class by bringing perspectives and experiences that enriched all of us.

Teresa Storch

Albuquerque