The United States runs on gas powered generators.

As of 2022, the US had nearly 1,000 gas-fired plants, which was already more than the next nine countries combined. Under returning president Donald Trump, the country’s embrace of high-carbon power has only accelerated, as energy developers abandon environmentally-friendly projects like off-shore wind farms in favor of more noxious gas- and coal-powered facilities.

As if our rapidly warming world wasn’t being choked by enough smog, the ["AI" grift] is now adding even more fuel to the proverbial fire. According to a new analysis by the Environment America Research and Policy Center, first flagged by Electrek, the buildout of more [data centers] will come with a 44 percent increase in gas-fired generator capacity over the next four years.

That’s a stunning rise of nearly 20 gigawatts by 2030, compared to the country’s current gas generator capacity of 41.8 gigawatts, a milestone which took centuries of development — and untold tons of carbon exhaust — to reach.