The extractive logic of digital growth

Measurement and industrial reality. Economic researchers distinguish between industry, which produces physical goods, and business, which uses property rights to extract income (The Honest Sorcerer). While business activity is measured by money changing hands, industrial activity is best characterized by energy consumption (The Honest Sorcerer). This difference creates a systemic distortion where financial metrics like GDP often mask the depletion of physical resources.

Digital infrastructure footprints. Data centers consumed 415 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, a figure projected to reach 945 terawatt-hours by 2030 due to AI demand (The Conversation). Microsoft reported a 25% year-over-year rise in emissions in 2025, driven by the expansion of this physical infrastructure and changes in renewable-energy accounting. U.S. data center construction spending reached a record annualized rate of $96.5 billion in September, a 90% increase over the previous year (Eric Rosen from The Rosen Report).

Accounting for environmental costs. Major coal-exporting nations use international accounting loopholes to report domestic emissions cuts while shipping fossil fuels abroad, generating 12.4 billion tonnes of CO2 over the past decade (Unassailable Ecological). Open-cut coal mines rely on outdated formula estimates instead of direct satellite measurements to mask methane leaks behind carbon credits. Tech monopolies now apply these same accounting tactics to justify the energy demands of AI server plantations (Unassailable Ecological).

Sovereignty and local control. European governments are moving critical videoconferencing and cloud infrastructure toward domestic providers to reduce dependence on American technology (Mary Geddry from Geddry). Amish communities demonstrate a different approach by collectively deciding whether to adopt new tools based on their impact on family cohesion and self-governance. Sustainable systems rely on the ability of a community to maintain control over the essentials of its own survival.

• Banque de France researchers suggest zonal electricity pricing to encourage data centers to relocate away from congested metropolitan hubs (Green Central Banking).
• The International Telecommunication Union scheduled a Cop31 event for November 16 to address the financing of durable and repairable electronics (The Conversation).