Originally published at: ‘Real, Actual Villains’: What’s Driving the Remarkably Bipartisan Backlash to Data Centers - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. This month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, unveiled a set of sweeping recommendations to rein in rampant data center development, urging Texas lawmakers to aggressively regulate the tech industry in a state that has a…
I’m still of the mind that this is the best shot we have at winning back rural and working class voters. (Whether Dems can say no to the juggernaut of AI cash is another issue.) The GOP will try to frame this as yet another class issue just as they did with extraction industry jobs. That’s not something we can allow them to accomplish. The fight against data centers is a truly grass roots, non-partisan movement based on resource allocation and the high-handed (and stealthy) manner in which the tech overlords rolled it out. We can improve our brand by lending support.
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(just four tech companies are projected to spend a total of $670 billion on AI-related infrastructure this year)
Therefore, there’s no money for what we need.
This is the lethality of income inequality. Fewer and fewer people participate in the decisioning for society’s wealth. Fewer and fewer perspectives, less knowledge, less mental power. An increasing chance of being wrong, like being run by a failed casino operator.
Majority rule is the way. It just needs everyone.
E Pluribus Unum
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Data centers are different than fracking. People are looking at lower water pressure (and undrinkable water in some cases), higher electric bills, and a terrible hum that will lower their property values. This is not an environmental issue - it’s a pocketbook, lifestyle issue, so it will continue.
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The story talks about a 40,000 acre datacenter project. Thats about 51 square miles. It’s probably more like 4000 acres which is comparable with a lot of other data centers. Still huge. I’m writing is after the global AI selloff/meltdown, hopefully that will continue.
a 40,000-acre data center project backed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary is facing intense backlash from rural conservative voters
This is hard to fathom. O’leary has halved his 40k-acre proposal to 20k of which 10k acres would be set aside for open space, wildlife corridors, etc. with the remainder in infrastructure (buildings, batteries, solar arrays, etc.).
OK, but… 10,000 acres is 15 square miles. That’s driving 4 miles in your car and seeing solid buildings, then turning the corner and driving another 4 miles past more buildings.
That’s not like driving past 4 miles of strip malls. The lights, noise, turbine exhaust, security fencing, and whatever else comes with a data center (I doubt we even know) is going to be your worst dystopian nightmare.
and the worse part of it all is that these centers will not employ many people, robots and tech- machines will keep these places working,soylent green, anyone??
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