As reported in Axios Des Moines this week, Microsoft’s West Des Moines data centers consume 11.5 million gallons of water for cooling each month! Globally, Microsoft’s water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 to nearly 1.7 billion gallons.

Sidebar: For all you lovers of the “free” market, Microsoft has received $219,785,484 in taxpayer handouts for seven Iowa projects, according to Subsidy Tracker. Corporate socialism is alive and well in the US heartland!

What’s not alive and well is intelligent planning, which Mark Clipsham (pictured above) and I discuss this week. Running out of water may be what finally shakes the most staunch US capitalist (and the most hard-line Chinese communist) out of their stupor, compelling them to admit that the limits of growth have been surpassed.

We need to say it over and over again: the Endless Growth Economy is a failure. The “grow or “die” mentality is a lie. Billionaires must be abolished. Comfortable citizens of affluent nations must learn to live with less — and perhaps even discover they’re happier. Global population must plateau and eventually decline. We need to replace GNP with something like HDI (Human Development Index) — a tool developed by the UN to measure a nation’s well being beyond just economic growth. Continue Reading →