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No Data Centers in My Backyard

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Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#61

Post by ajkjk »

Planktonne wrote: post #10

The article is interesting, but I think it dances around what should be a central point, only approaching it obliquely. A lot of the opposition to data centers isn't about specific claimed benefits/drawbacks, but the fact that the people behind them are known to be bad actors. > My conversations make me wonder if the technical content of data center deals is mostly beside the point. Closed-loop cooling systems? “I do…

The other part is: if there really is so much money in these, it should be easy for the companies to produce an actually good deal. Everyone can tell (after all these experiences) what bullshit smells like, when the deals are full of tricks. Why try the tricks--property taxes that pay eventually, jobs that will show up eventually, promises that electric bills won't go up--when you could guarantee the results, and guarantee the town won't be left holding the bag?

Well of course it's because the companies think they don't have to give a good deal. That they can get away with it.

One wonders if at this point they would have saved money not trying to fuck people over to get what they wanted. I hope so. The ideal world has companies doing things the honest way because it's honest, but I'd settle for them doing it that way because they're economically incentivized to do so.

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#62

Post by actionfromafar »

deadbunny wrote: post #29
ianm218 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the data center was paying a decent amount of taxes surely it would help though right? In theory the taxes would go towards pro social uses.

Which would be a good argument if the datacenters actually paid any taxes. They shop around for tens to hundreds of millions in tax breaks from officials who believe the lies like "we'll create thousands of jobs!".

Some believe the lies. Some just believe in a good golf club.

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#63

Post by inigyou »

shib71 wrote: post #47
BikiniPrince wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Do you have evidence? Because that claim doesn't pass the sniff test - why would people who have large amounts of money care about data centers?

Reads like classic projection to me. Always accuse the other side of what your side is doing.

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#64

Post by blitzar »

BikiniPrince wrote: post #40
afavour wrote: post #4

Some of the reaction to data center build outs has become irrational but frankly I see it as a reflection of the arrogance of the billionaire tech elite. Voters were told: - AI is going to take your jobs - We need to build our data centers for this job stealing tool - We need to build so quickly that there’s no time to do accurate assessments of what this will do to water or power supplies Turns out people don’t like…

[flagged]

how many orders of magnitude less than the money flowing into building data centers? 6 or 7?

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#65

Post by inigyou »

mirzap wrote: post #25
rimbo789 wrote: post #2

Solid article. Outlines well why no one wants these things. I hope it helps more communities fight these and ensure almost none get built

The majority of people opposed AC current, cars, steam engines, rail tracks, airplanes, computers, the internet, and so on. There was always irrational fear present with new tech advances. People opposing data centers will not look any less foolish than those who opposed AC current.

I need evidence for all of these please.

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#66

Post by afavour »

BikiniPrince wrote: post #40
afavour wrote: post #4

Some of the reaction to data center build outs has become irrational but frankly I see it as a reflection of the arrogance of the billionaire tech elite. Voters were told: - AI is going to take your jobs - We need to build our data centers for this job stealing tool - We need to build so quickly that there’s no time to do accurate assessments of what this will do to water or power supplies Turns out people don’t like…

[flagged]

Is there? Do you have sourcing? Who are the well funded actors spending big against data centers?

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#67

Post by bob001 »

inigyou wrote: post #56
bob001 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like a evil monster. I tend to like not fearing starvation every year, not fearing freezing to death every year and not having the vast majority of my kids die. Industrialization led to all that.

I didn't realize we were going to freeze to death if there weren't chatboxes everywhere.

[flagged]

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#68

Post by YackerLose »

bob001 wrote: post #49
zkmon wrote: post #8

People in UK opposed train tracks in steam engine days, saying that the train engine sound scares their horses and cattle. Ofcourse data centers are far worse. But it is amusing to see how humanity continues to oppose tech and the tech buldozes anyway, like a evil monster.

> like a evil monster. I tend to like not fearing starvation every year, not fearing freezing to death every year and not having the vast majority of my kids die. Industrialization led to all that.

Post-industrialization, AI-fication, Human Replacement (whatever it ought to be called) could take that all away.

Re: No Data Centers in My Backyard

#69

Post by ajkjk »

ajkjk wrote: post #61
Planktonne wrote: post #10

The article is interesting, but I think it dances around what should be a central point, only approaching it obliquely. A lot of the opposition to data centers isn't about specific claimed benefits/drawbacks, but the fact that the people behind them are known to be bad actors. > My conversations make me wonder if the technical content of data center deals is mostly beside the point. Closed-loop cooling systems? “I do…

The other part is: if there really is so much money in these, it should be easy for the companies to produce an actually good deal. Everyone can tell (after all these experiences) what bullshit smells like, when the deals are full of tricks. Why try the tricks--property taxes that pay eventually, jobs that will show up eventually, promises that electric bills won't go up--when you could guarantee the results, and gua…

mostly unrelated but amusing: I keep getting fliers from Google fiber trying to get me to switch. Every one has this one bizarre line in it: "our customers have never had their rates go up!"---as if I am too stupid to realize that is not a promise. Now, I have no idea if that works on other people. Maybe enough other people are stupid and don't notice that that's not a promise that turns out to be good ad copy. But I am personally so put off by the disrespectful attempt at manipulation that I consider switching less, even though it might well save me money. It is significantly worse for them, as a sales tactic, than if they had written nothing there at all.
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