Data centers are giving me hope
I've followed and engaged in politics for about 8 years now, on and off. A lot of what we see on the news feels way too big to make any difference, and often it feels like no matter what effort goes in, we're just kind of crossing our fingers & hoping the right powerful people win - sometimes they do, and sometimes the bad ones win.
We clearly failed to stop Trump from being elected, and we've failed to stop ICE from terrorizing brown (and sometimes white) people. Trans people are losing rights in a lot of states (though, they've been protected in others).
So much of it feels hopeless, feels like there's nothing we can actually do to make a difference.
But data centers have been a galvanizing issue for people nationwide. I've seen countless videos online of people speaking at city council meetings, of local legislative victories. I've also seen politicians from both major parties change their stance on AI Data Centers.
Pritzker (D), Governor of Illinois, was a champion of Data Centers at first because jobs jobs jobs. Abbot (R), Governor of Texas, was also a champion of Data Centers, and helped move many projects forward in Texas. Both have changed their stances amid massive pushback. I've seen a slew of reports about cities in my state passing data center moratoriums, too.
This is not an issue where we're getting 100% success. There have been and will continue to be bad outcomes. But we are seeing a lot of successes across the entire country. We're seeing bipartisan support for the cause against data centers.
My community is facing pro-data-center advocacy right now, but we also have an organized group resisting. They're organizing protests, they're going to county board and city council meetings, they're spreading information on Facebook. They're doing the work, and they're staying consistent.
I'm not officially a member of either of the two organizations, but I've been showing up to meetings, speaking, and I've been taking photos to provide for the anti-data-center propaganda efforts. I don't know if we'll win. The tables do seem to be stacked against us. But we're trying, and we've seen so many other communities succeed on this issue.
I have hope. And you should too. And you should be involved if you're able. You don't need to be an expert, an academic, or a professional speaker, or anything like that. You are a member of your community, you are member in a Democracy. It is your right and your duty to participate in the process.
Email your city counselor, or speak at a public meeting just stating your opposition to data centers, or hold a sign at a protest, or donate some money to your local organizations.