Communities are speaking about their experience with AI Data Centers. And the research is confirming their fears
Rural Utah residents could be the next victim of the AI Data Center community invasion. Public officials should familiarize themselves with the stories of neighbors of these industrial developments before posturing the development of them as a positive for our state.
The story has repeated itself, across the US and across the globe. In Mexico, power and water conflicts with the data center led to school cancellations and stomach bugs.
“I can’t drink the water – life next to a US data centre,” A BBC headline reads before it outlines the story of Beverly Morris in rural Georgia. The company who developed in her neighborhood denies contaminating ground water, but Morris shows the severely diminished quality of her water since their operations started. AI Data Centers have been receiving valid pushback due to both the amount of water they use, and their impact on local water quality. Utah is in the midst of a mega-drought consuming the southwest. With no reason to believe it will let up soon, officials should get serious about water conservation for their communities, rather than enticing neighbors who risk the livability of our state.
AI Data Centers also use a tremendous amount of energy and are quickly becoming a strain on local and global energy grids. Researchers found that generating the electricity needed to train models like Chat GPT produced equivalent air pollution of more than 10,000 round trips between Los Angeles and New York City.
Another study found that data centers produced more than 105 million tons of CO2e emissions (over 2% of the US’s total) in 2023. This is because most of the energy they use comes from fossil fuels.
The authors of a Cal Tech study estimated the health costs, including 1,300 expected annual premature deaths by 2030. Their study used methods for known epidemiological risks associated with air pollution from power plants and backup diesel generators.
While other countries, like Ireland and the Netherlands, are pushing back on developments like these in their communities, the US is pushing full steam ahead, offering up cheap land in rural communities.
We urge everyone, especially people with interests in Millard County, or residents nearby Inland Port development sites, to contact your representatives about this growing issue. The process of approval historically moves quickly and secretively. Get ahead of it and protect your community by saying no to AI data centers in Utah.
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