Part 1: Drought, Snowpack & the Silent Strain on BC’s Power
We’re not paying attention. Not really.
Despite all the headlines, all the warnings, and all the science, we continue to ignore the most basic truth: no water means no power—and no power means no AI, no cooling, no lights, and no future.
This year, B.C.’s snowpack is just 71% of normal, and it's melting faster than ever. That may not sound like a big deal unless you understand what that snow really is: our power bank. Our clean electricity, our hydro-driven economy, and the invisible engine behind everything from TikTok to data storage to AI development.
The melt is already ahead of schedule. Rivers across Vancouver Island, the South Coast, and the northeast are running at or near record lows—and it’s only May.
So why does this matter to you?
Because in a province that prides itself on clean, renewable hydropower, we are sleepwalking toward a digital drought. And we’re doing it just as demand for electricity is skyrocketing—thanks in part to artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and an explosion of data-hungry technologies.
BC’s Silent Struggle: Power Generation Is Already Down
Former BC Hydro chair Mark Jaccard and climate experts have warned us before: as the climate shifts, our hydro advantage could become a liability.
Now, it's happening.
According to BC Hydro’s own reports, electricity generation is dropping—because there simply isn’t enough water in the reservoirs. Meanwhile, peak summer demand is rising as more people install air conditioners to deal with hotter, drier summers.
Let’s connect the dots:
- Lower snowpack → Less water in rivers and dams
- Less water → Less electricity from hydro
- More heat → More electricity demand
- More AI/data centers → Even more electricity and water demand
We’re heading into a situation where the very systems we rely on to build the future could be undermining our ability to sustain it.
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