(0:00) Pre-Show

(1:45) The Hidden Water Cost of the Things We Consume

(3:00) The Kernels Are Thirsty

(7:30) 40k Gallons of Joe

(9:32) Pools of Evaporation

(12:48) That’s a Thirsty Burger

(15:02) The Back Nine

(17:42) Delicious Chocolate

(19:25) One Gallon per Nut

(21:43) Rice, Rice, Water

(25:30) cj’s recommendation: Bottled Life: Nestle's Business with Water (2012)

(28:15) Jeff’s Recommendation: The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The numbers sound big and scary: U.S. data centers consume roughly 228 billion gallons of water annually. But how does that stack up against the things we actually eat, drink, and use?

This episode the guys normalize the data center debate with some shocking agricultural realities that will make you want to swap your pizza slice for a beer just to conserve resources. Simple evaporation makes our uncovered swimming pools equal to a data center's worth of water. Worse, a single grain crop claims up to a third of all global freshwater withdrawals. A third!

Download, subscribe, and try not to think about "night soil" while you listen!

Nonsense is available ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.