Yeah the whole data center environmental panic seemed astroturfed to me. I took a look at the numbers and it’s not that bad. If you telework one day instead of commuting you make up for over a week of heavy AI use, and the water use is on par with an average golf course.
There are noise issues in some places. But the panic is excessive. Like nuts.
Maybe environmental panics are to the left what moral panics about stuff like trans people are to the right.
Don't need any astroturfing to explain the data center panic, it's well within organic NIMBYism. I've been trying to get housing built in my town for a decade, the crap stuff say about housing and the fervor with which they block housing is even greater than the data center panic.
Add in 1) all job destruction that Sam Altman and other leaders tout, 2) Musk operating an environmental disaster in the most offensive way possible for xAI, and 3) general fear bait a new technology that has such uncertain consequences, and I'm surprised the backlash isn't stronger.
Go talk to community members about any change in the buildings in their area and the data center backlash fits right in line with normal responses.
How is it excessive and nuts? If anywhere else is like it is by me, they've been ramming a bunch of giant warehouses at the least, and the increased noise both from the operation itself and the loss of natural barriers blocking other noise, light, and air pollution is really noticeably degrading things. And from what I understand, data centers are even worse due to their increased use of cooling and things like gas generators. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that people are pissed off and increasingly so.
There are noise issues in some places. But the panic is excessive. Like nuts.
Maybe environmental panics are to the left what moral panics about stuff like trans people are to the right.