Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans hate data centers. China makes a perfect scapegoat for tech leaders and their allies—the only problem is a lack of evidence.

The World Meteorological Organization is warning that the climate phenomenon that has the Pacific running a fever will last until at least February, with dire consequences for weather worldwide.

You have questions about data centers, and WIRED has answers. Join our livestream on September 10 and our panel of experts will tell you everything you need to know.

Climate change is causing glaciers to retreat and become less stable, upping the odds of catastrophic collapses.

More than 15 politicians from across the country have signed on to the AI Pact, vowing to regulate data centers and AI. “We’ve got to get this right,” says Senate candidate Dan Osborn of Nebraska.

There’s no clearer sign of the data center boom than rampant gas projects that have been proposed or that are already under construction.

“People have talked about the Colorado River crisis for decades—we’re now in it,” says one expert. “Everyone you talk to is like, ‘Shit, man.’”

A massive new gas plant in Texas will be built with much less efficient technology than regular gas plants. It’s far from the only data center power project to rely on dirty turbines.

New research finds that by making the fossil fuel industry more productive, AI could help increase carbon emissions by up to nearly 5 percent—vastly outpacing the impact of data centers.

In today’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we discuss how ICE has been collecting DNA samples of people who have no criminal convictions, including children, which end up in an FBI database indefinitely.

Chevron and Williams are big winners in the race to power artificial intelligence as they build out gas-fired power plants and pipelines.

A new study shows how the big cats cause deer to move away from roads and deeper into the forest, where they pose less of a hazard to motorists.

What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.

A combination of El Niño, unusually hot ocean waters, and jet stream changes is sending temperatures soaring in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Startup Zanskar has created one of the most productive geothermal wells in the US at a power plant that had been in decline for years.

The EPA has proposed a rule change that would let states decide how much input the public has on air pollution permits. It would be a huge boon for data centers increasingly reliant on fossil fuels.

Michigan has been at the epicenter of the wildfire smoke and explosive diarrhea outbreaks. The progressive Democrat talks to WIRED about how he would tackle the forces behind them if he’s elected.

Roughly 100 fires are raging out of control in Ontario, sending smoke streaming 1,000 miles to the south and east.

“We have no choice but to address the challenges created by these massive facilities,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. The executive order will pause construction for one year.

Data centers are driving up the company’s use of electricity—and carbon pollution.

As worries about a growing super El Niño mount, new findings suggest a radical solution to mitigating its impacts.

The companies’ Fourth of July plans include celebrating new reactor designs coming online. But there’s still a long way to go before they deliver energy at a meaningful scale.

Climate activist Will Lawrence cofounded the Sunrise Movement. Now, he has shifted his focus in his attempt to compete for a swing-district seat by calling for a data center moratorium.

Algae blooms, peeling paint, and a host of fixes from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubblers have made it hard to diagnose what’s wrong with the Reflecting Pool—let alone how to clean up the mess.

Warm weather has fueled a bloom that National Park Service workers are trying to kill using everything from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubbles ahead of July 4 celebrations.

In a bid to dismiss a lawsuit over xAI’s polluting gas turbines, the Justice Department claimed the company is integral to military operations—including the Iran War.

The federal government is planning to let a rule regulating federal data center operations sunset in September with no replacement.

GOP lawmakers, tech investors, and even OpenAI have tied the anti-data-center movement in the US to Chinese interference. Experts say it’s much more complicated than that.

Elon Musk is set to make hundreds of billions even as communities in Mississippi and Tennessee are fighting to stop the gas turbines powering xAI's supercomputers.

Google, Microsoft, and other hyperscalers have come under scrutiny for their impact on water quality and availability.

There’s a new front in the war over the safety of chemicals used to make nonstick pans.

Reducing the fee will have only a marginal impact on prices while depriving the government of revenue to maintain roads.

Researcher Sasha Luccioni argues we need better emissions data and a better sense of how people are using AI in the first place.

Emails show that Elon Musk’s company is expanding its use of portable gas-fired power at its Colossus 2 site as a fight over air quality continues.

The move could save the oil company hundreds of millions, even as Texas lawmakers start looking at reining in incentives for data centers.

Concern over water access are poised to consume summer in the US, as crises in Corpus Christi and across the Colorado River threaten to boil over.

A WIRED review of permits for data center projects using natural gas and linked to OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI shows they could emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.

In a letter obtained by WIRED, the Energy Information Administration tells two senators that it plans to develop a mandatory assessment of data centers' energy use.

Documents show that one of Google’s new data centers would be powered by a natural gas plant that emits millions of tons of emissions each year—an increasingly common trend in the industry.

In a letter sent Thursday morning, Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley press the Energy Information Agency to mandate annual electricity disclosure for data centers.

The US senator said on Tuesday that a moratorium would give lawmakers time to "ensure that AI is safe." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will introduce a similar bill in the House in the weeks ahead.

“This will be so, so, so, so, so bad,” one analyst says.

A massive Western heat wave and a potential El Niño event raise concerns about a long stretch of unpredictable and extreme weather.

Donald Trump said he would replace the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem’s tenure was marked by aggressive anti-immigration tactics and ICE and CBP’s killing of two US protesters.

“Data centers … they need some PR help,”President Donald Trump said at the event.

The Middle East supplies a huge amount of the world’s fertilizer. Conflict in the region has sent prices soaring ahead of the critical spring planting season.

The conflict in the Middle East is driving oil prices up in a midterm year when Americans are already focused on high energy bills.

Despite Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on renewable energy, there’s a quiet revolution happening on US grids.

A new report finds that of 154 specific claims about how AI will benefit the climate, just a quarter cited academic research. A third included no evidence at all.