But that water remains in the water cycle. With agriculture the water goes into the crops and is then shipped off to other places, exiting the water cycle of its origin.
That's backwards. When data centers evaporate water for cooling, it becomes vapor that blows away to fall as rain somewhere else then it's gone from the local area or its discharged a waste water. Farm water mostly stays put but plants release it back into the local air, excess irrigation soaks into local groundwater, and only a fraction leaves in the harvested crops.
Farmers can reuse the same local water year after year. Data centers need fresh water constantly because their evaporated water doesn't come back.
“But the water cycle” is the dunning-krugerest counter argument of them all. It assumes the reader doesn’t remember 4th grade science class, while misapplying that same basic knowledge.
There’s a fundamental difference between water ending up in a tomato which is shipped across the world and leaves permanently and water that evaporates and rains down later. Regardless of whatever names you call me that is true.
