Where the Internet Lives

Last March, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It carried more than 40 payloads on board, including a satellite called MethaneSAT, which was designed to track methane emissions around the globe. Cutting methane emissions is a critical step toward reducing the rise of global temperatures that climate change is spreading to communities.In this episode, we have two stories about how data centers – and the AI they enable – are helping to mitigate the invisible threats of heat and air pollution around the world, particularly for vulnerable populations.From satellites to tree canopies, we ask how AI can help protect human health, reduce air pollution, and temper the urban heat island effect in our cities.Guests: Mansi Kansal, Cool Roofs product manager at GoogleDr. Monica Bharel, clinical lead for public sector health at GoogleKarin Tuxen-Bettman, Google Earth outreach managerMillie Chu Baird, VP, Office of Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense FundFatima Luna, chief resilience officer, City of TucsonWatch our complementary documentary about how Google’s data centers are helping make the invisible threats of air pollution and methane emissions visible.

Dwane Roth is a fourth-generation farmer growing corn, wheat, sorghum, and sunflower in southwestern Kansas. Back in 2016, the state of Kansas launched a three-year pilot designed to test the latest water conservation technologies on three working farms. Dwane’s farm was one of them. Seeing the benefits, Dwane became an outspoken advocate for high-tech approaches to water conservation – approaches that could help restore the critical Ogallala Aquifer running underneath most of western Kansas. In this episode, we ask how data-driven predictive tools are helping farmers use less water and improve yields. Plus, we look at how data and AI are getting excess food to those who need it most. And we confront the paradox of hunger and food waste existing at the same time, in the same places. Guests: Emily Ma, head of special projects in REWS sustainability at GooglePrem Ramaswami, head of Data Commons at GoogleStephanie Zidek, vice president of data and analytics, Feeding AmericaDwane Roth, farmer and water conservation advocate in KansasAstro Teller, captain of moonshots at X, the moonshot factoryWatch our complementary documentary about how data and AI are getting excess food to those who need it most, and the paradox of hunger and food waste existing at the same time, in the same places.

In January 2024, winter storm Gerri swept across the Midwest, bringing subzero temperatures with it. In Omaha, Nebraska, just as everyone was turning up the heat, the city’s four thermal power plants went offline. Tim McAreavey is the VP of Customer Service at Omaha Public Power District. As the freeze gripped Nebraska, Tim and his team began an all-out effort to enlist the help of their biggest customers to reduce energy demand – including a Google data center.In this episode, we have three stories about how data centers are helping decarbonize the energy system – and how to manage the growing energy needs of AI. Plus we learn about Tapestry's mission to make everything on the grid visible by using data science and AI to plan, predict, and monitor assets across the network.And we ask how data centers and the tools they enable are helping communities accelerate clean energy while making the electric grid more resilient, literally keeping the lights on for homeowners, businesses, schools, and hospitals.Guests:Page Crahan, Tapestry team lead at X, the moonshot factorySavannah Goodman, data and software climate solutions lead at GoogleUrs Hölze, Google fellow and former senior VP for engineering at GoogleAlexina Jackson, vice president of strategic development, AESTim McAreavey, vice president of customer service, Omaha Public Power DistrictAstro Teller, captain of moonshots at X, the moonshot factoryWatch our complementary documentary about how AI-assisted tools like Alphabet’s Tapestry are helping accelerate clean energy while making the electric grid more resilient—literally keeping the lights on for homeowners, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

According to NASA, nearly two-thirds of all Western wildfires recorded over the past 75 years occurred in just the last two decades. Firefighters and fire researchers are seeing this trend first hand. As wildfires grow more destructive and more unpredictable, fire experts need better ways to account for extreme variability.Now, major advances in AI are helping to predict wildfire behavior, and protect communities across the globe. In this episode, we examine how data centers enable researchers, policymakers, and NGOs to mitigate climate threats like forest fires, reduce emissions, and enable a wide range of decarbonization solutions.Guests: Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at GoogleOlivia Gagliardi, smokejumper, Missoula, Mont.Matt Hancher, director of engineering, Geo for Environment team at GoogleLaWen Hollingsworth, fire behavior specialist, Fire Modeling InstituteKit O'Connor, research ecologist, U.S. Forest ServicePrem Ramaswami, head of Data Commons at GoogleJorge Rivera, director of data, ONE CampaignWatch our complementary documentary on how AI is helping researchers predict and respond to fires more effectively.