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Data Centers

Everybody Hates Data Centers

June 6, 2026 Paul Messersmith-Glavin, Truthout. , , ,
Between 4,000 and 5,000 data centers are actively humming in the U.S. right now, draining energy and, in the case of some of the hyperscale ones, consuming as much as 5 million gallons of water per day. Even this does not satisfy the demand cultivated by the tech industry, however: At least 3,000 more data centers are under construction or planned, prompting a diverse grassroots mobilization against their construction. Indigenous people are resisting continued attempts to exploit their land, air, and water. Rural white folks, some of whom voted for Donald Trump, are now going door to door, outraged about rising electricity costs and water shortages.

A Marxist View On The Environmental Impact Of AI Data Centers

May 24, 2026 Otis Grotewohl, Workers World. , , ,
Recent studies show that most people in the U.S. have an unfavorable view of data centers. A new Gallup survey just revealed that 70% of the U.S. population oppose data centers near their homes, which is a massive jump from only 47% in late 2025. (tomshardware.com, May 14) Another study from the Marquette University Law School shows that 62% of the U.S. population “believes the cost of data centers outweighs the benefits.” (Washington Post, April 15) Workers object to the growth of data centers for a variety of reasons. There is growing concern about impacts on the environment, utility costs, water consumption and climate change.

Climate Denier Group Pushes States To Embrace Coal Power For Data Centers

May 20, 2026 Sharon Kelly, DeSmog. , , , , ,
After several years of attacking big tech over the industry’s perceived politics, Heartland is now urging those same companies to burn coal and other fossil fuels to power the enormous data centers used to train and run so-called “artificial intelligence” systems and for cryptocurrency mining. During its July 2025 presentation, Heartland sought to convince listeners that coal can — and should — make a major comeback, documents reviewed by DeSmog show. To a significant degree, big tech companies have so far kept the notoriously-polluting fossil fuel at arm’s length as they’ve moved to build new power plants to generate electricity for data centers.

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Are A Dead End

May 18, 2026 Richard Heinberg, Resilience. , , ,
The nuclear power industry is currently promoting designs for small modular reactors (SMRs) that will supposedly be cheaper, safer, and faster to build than older nuclear power plants. Bill Gates and Amazon are investing in the technology. Moreover, some environmentalists, including Mark Lynas and Bill McKibben, support SMRs in the hope that they can lower carbon emissions. And, according to polls, far more Americans now approve of the development of nuclear energy than was the case just a decade or two ago.

Tech Giants Don’t Just Want Your Data; They Want Your City

April 26, 2026 Ali Fard, Next City. , , ,
The fall of 2017 was a watershed moment in the evolving relationship between urbanism and technology corporations. In September, Amazon announced a request for proposals for cities to bid to host its new North American headquarters, Amazon HQ2. In October, a new partnership was announced between Sidewalk Labs — an Alphabet/Google subsidiary — and Waterfront Toronto — a public organization charged with the administration of the redevelopment and revitalization of Toronto’s postindustrial waterfront — to develop an “innovation and development plan” for Quayside, a 12-acre site on the city’s waterfront. The partnership was called “Sidewalk Toronto.”

One Wisconsin City Beat Back A Data Center

April 20, 2026 Marianne Dhenin, Next City. , , ,
A small Wisconsin city has just notched a big win in its fight against a proposed data center, thanks to grassroots community organizing and support from a growing statewide coalition. And to help guide other communities facing similar challenges, organizers in Menomonie have helped develop a toolkit for taking on hyperscale data centers. “It’s like whack-a-mole; you knock out one [data center], and another just pops up,” says Blaine Halverson, an organizer in the city of about 16,800 residents. “We’re trying, in real time and against the clock, to do something to protect our community, and now we’re trying to help other communities do that proactively.”

Want To Resist A Data Center? Organizers Share How They Did It

April 20, 2026 Derek Seidman, Truthout. , , , ,
The prolific construction of massive data centers that house the physical computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) is galvanizing resistance in localities across the United States. Communities are fighting back against the billionaire tech and financial power behind these projects and their numerous harms, from their noise and pollution to their hyperconsumption of water and electricity. Truthout has been covering the corporate interests behind the data center boom and local resistance to data centers. In this roundtable, we brought together representatives from three campaigns across the U.S. to share their experiences

Environmental Groups File To Intervene Opposing Proposed ICE Detention Centers

April 17, 2026 Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Berks and Schuylkill Counties, PA; Harrisburg, PA -  On April 17, 2026, two environmental organizations, Green Amendments For The Generations and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, have filed legal petitions to help stop the Department of Homeland Security from advancing efforts to transform two Pennsylvania warehouses into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. The proposed facilities have faced state and local opposition due to their projected environmental and community impacts.

Wisconsin City Passes Nation’s First Anti-Data Center Referendum

April 10, 2026 Tyler Katzenberger, Portside. , , , ,
A small Wisconsin city home to a data center project backed by President Donald Trump voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to restrict future data centers, in a first-of-its-kind referendum that backers said could offer a blueprint for AI infrastructure opponents around the country. Voters in the Milwaukee suburb of Port Washington approved the measure by a roughly 2-to-1 margin, according to unofficial results. City residents who sponsored the voter initiative said it marks an escalation of tactics to oppose the massive facilities needed to power artificial intelligence and could inspire activists in other towns to follow suit.

How Data Center Developers Staked Their Claim In Rural Georgia

April 8, 2026 Edward Donnelly, DeSmog. , , ,
Jacqueline Lassetter wanted to see America’s biggest data center. So one day in July last year, at the age of 78, she jumped into a car with her daughter, Daphne, and headed west across the muddy Chattahoochee River, leaving their wooded Georgia home for the Nevada desert. A week later, she was standing in front of the Citadel Campus, owned by data center company Switch, which lies along a stretch of highway outside of Reno, Nevada more than 2,000 miles from her home. Lassetter was finally able to imagine what might soon be coming to her doorstep in Coweta County, Georgia: a gigantic, windowless computing complex emitting a strange hum.

Big Green + Big Tech = Bigger Environmental Racism

March 27, 2026 Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
As David Holt, Mayor of Oklahoma City, remarked to Politico last month, “ If you had asked me about data centers five months ago, I would have said: ‘What’s a data center?” He continued, “Now it’s everywhere. So that’s a short amount of time to fully formulate what you think about it.” While it’s true that data centers to power artificial intelligence (AI) are a ubiquitous aspect of the current U.S. lexicon, the idea that positions on data centers have not been fully formulated is questionable. Clearly, Big Tech corporations are solid in their position that they need as much influence over the government and other decision makers to proliferate their data center infrastructure wherever they want and as quickly as they want.

AI Data Centers Spark Debate On Native Lands

March 20, 2026 Jen Deerinwater and Jesse Deer In Water, Counter Punch. , , , ,
The recent explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers has created a litany of environmental and cultural issues for Native people and Tribes across the so-called “United States.” This, in turn, has sparked intense debate and prompted conversations on tribal digital sovereignty and a call for regulation that controls the data, infrastructure, and networks. Data centers are facilities that keep and manage internet technology infrastructure for processing, storing, and distributing large quantities of data. They are key to modern digital services, which can include AI.

Residents Victorious In Fight To Stop Pekin, Illinois Data Center

March 15, 2026 Nicholis Hall, People's World. , ,
Pekin, IL — Residents celebrated a victory Tuesday night as Mayor Mary Burress announced that Pekin City Council does not plan to move forward with approval for a proposed AI data center. Burress was greeted with applause by those in attendance as she read off her statement indicating the council was nixing the facility. “When a project creates this level of uncertainty and division, it is important for us to step back to consider whether moving forward is truly the right path,” Buress told the crowd. Zoey Carter, who is running for the Illinois State House in District 93, expressed gratitude for the decision, highlighting the various reasons the community opposed the data center.

Data Centers Are Poised To Engulf A Pennsylvania Town

March 15, 2026 Edward Donnelly, DeSmog. , , ,
On a chilly Monday just before Thanksgiving, residents of Archbald, Pennsylvania hurried from work in the fading autumn light to snag seats in the old brick Borough Building for a 5 p.m. council meeting. After the roughly 50 seats quickly filled, people continued to pack the room, standing along the walls or wedging themselves into the remaining floor space. Police officers manned the doors. Outside, latecomers huddled around a laptop in the 40-degree cold to watch proceedings on a hastily rigged livestream. On the sidewalk, someone waved a handmade sign saying “Boycott AI.”

New Jersey Residents Defeat AI Data Center

February 20, 2026 Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams. , , ,
The New Brunswick, New Jersey City Council voted Wednesday to cancel plans to construct an artificial intelligence data center and instead build a new public park where the 27,000-square foot facility would have gone. Artificial intelligence data centers—which house the servers and other infrastructure needed to train and power AI models—have major environmental and climate impacts, as they consume massive amounts of electricity and water, as well as rare earth metals and other resources. According to New Brunswick Patch, hundreds of people packed into Wednesday evening’s city hall meeting to voice concerns that the proposed data center would send their electricity and water bills skyrocketing, and that the facility would harm the environment.
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