Tech’s Green Cost
February 19, 2026 2026-02-24 11:26Tech’s Green Cost
How A.I has harmed this environment
When it comes to artificial intelligence (A.I.), many students have integrated it into their learning and even daily lives. They’ve learned which are most helpful, which are free, and which bypass the school’s internet blockage. The use of A.I. may help with homework, but what about the environment?
When asked this question, Deerfield Beach High School junior Cristopher Tovar-Acosta had this to say: “A.I. wastes our resources and is causing our climate to change for the worse.”
Around 2022-2023, A.I had a massive spike in usage. Since then, A.I have continued to develop and improve as more people continue to use it. A research paper published on February 15, 2026, by the Food & Water Watch says “OpenAI’s GPT-4 uses as much as three 16.9oz bottles of water just to generate a 100-word email.” That’s 50.7oz of water. A student may drink only about half of that much water during a single school day while asking A.I. to create a 1000-word essay.
To put this into perspective, a student carrying a 30oz Stanley or Owala cup would still be 20.7oz short of what A.I. uses. DBHS senior Karen Ortiz says: “A.I. has used way more water than any average household, and it changes our view on everything we see, suspecting it’s A.I.”
Furthermore, any changes to help the environment are small steps towards saving the future. Education on recycling and renewable energy is always available, and to eliminate the use of A.I. would be to change browsers. An example of this would be to delete Google or Microsoft and download Ecosia, a green-friendly browser that has a built-in A.I. that relies on renewable energy instead of water.
Believing that someone else will take charge and help reverse climate change is exactly what they believe as well, creating a long cycle of diffusion of responsibility, as people will continue to stand by and wait for others to act. Reversing the effects of A.I. is simple. Stop using it.
