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Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

cnn.com

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Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#11

Post by arctic-true »

boc wrote: post #2

One under-discussed topic is whether Americans hate data centers in their neighborhoods, or whether they actually just hate gas turbine generators running 24/7 in their neighborhoods.

I think the “in their neighborhoods” thing is really the key. These things have got to be poison for property values. Younger, less wealthy people have economic anxiety about AI for fear of displacement and oppose data centers on that basis - more data centers = more AI. Older, wealthier people have less intrinsic reason to oppose the technology. But anything that threatens property values, be it a data center, a jail, a landfill, et cetera, must be resisted at all costs.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#12

Post by ransom1538 »

woah wrote: post #4

It's sad. For all the lamenting that the US is losing industrial capacity (or lost it long ago), we can't even handle some of the lightest industry possible. A big building that hums and releases slightly warm water, and the only sector in which we could still be called a world leader. Instead of trying to find property tax arrangements that work to give municipalities a big payoff, and power supply arrangements that…

You are a voice a reason.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#13

Post by palmotea »

Tempest1981 wrote: post #7

I'm surprised they haven't tried painting them "Go Away Green", vs stark off-white monoliths. https://themeparkarchitect.com/go-away-green-disneys-paint-c...

I don't think that would work. Per your article:

> While many theme park fans may initially believe there is only one ‘magical’ go away green color that was developed by Imagineering, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a plethora of varying shades of green hues developed and utilized by Walt Disney Imagineers, and other theme park designers, depending on the theme park’s location and surrounding color palette.

There's no color that would make an building that takes minutes to pass at highway speeds "go away."

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#14

Post by WhiteDawn »

Clearly hyperscalers are seeing datacenter commitment exceeding demand, and are now running PR campaigns to have the public push back against construction to get them out of their contracts.

Joking conspiracy theories aside, perhaps the over-commitment was part of the plan with the expectation that there will be rejections from government

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#16

Post by rzerowan »

b40d-48b2-979e wrote: post #3
boc wrote: post #2

One under-discussed topic is whether Americans hate data centers in their neighborhoods, or whether they actually just hate gas turbine generators running 24/7 in their neighborhoods.

whether they actually just hate gas turbine generators running 24/7 in their neighborhoods. Or the increased pollution (air, light, and sound) from having a warehouse-sized building of GPUs next to you. I'm already annoyed by my neighbors having spotlights pointed at their own houses or leaving garage lights on through the night that shine in through my bedroom windows.

Im wondering why the typical design is a warehouse with horizontal sprawl . Wouldnt it make sense to go vertical up or down .

Smaller footprint if insidea a metro area by having a skyscarper type data center , as i recall AT&T used to have such windowless anonymous buldings scattered in some cities for their equipment. Or have a Silo type structure going down if in a more rural area to not blight the landscape.With added advantage of dampenig on the sound pollution (although not sure what effects a humming underground building will have on subterrerean life).

Probably cost? All those would cost more that the biz are willing to spend , while putting up four walls and a roof is ordeers of scale cheaper.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#18

Post by Dylan16807 »

woah wrote: post #4

It's sad. For all the lamenting that the US is losing industrial capacity (or lost it long ago), we can't even handle some of the lightest industry possible. A big building that hums and releases slightly warm water, and the only sector in which we could still be called a world leader. Instead of trying to find property tax arrangements that work to give municipalities a big payoff, and power supply arrangements that…

A building that makes no physical products and has barely any workers isn't the kind of industry we lament losing.

But I would say datacenters are fine if they're prevented from screwing up electricity prices and have proper pollution controls.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#19

Post by palmotea »

woah wrote: post #4

It's sad. For all the lamenting that the US is losing industrial capacity (or lost it long ago), we can't even handle some of the lightest industry possible. A big building that hums and releases slightly warm water, and the only sector in which we could still be called a world leader. Instead of trying to find property tax arrangements that work to give municipalities a big payoff, and power supply arrangements that…

> It's sad. For all the lamenting that the US is losing industrial capacity (or lost it long ago), we can't even handle some of the lightest industry possible. A big building that hums and releases slightly warm water, and the only sector in which we could still be called a world leader.

No. Data centers have very, very few positive externalities for the people who live around them. They employ very few people, use a lot of infrastructure and resource, to provide services for people far from the community.

And on top of that the technologies they enable are loudly marketed as things that could destroy us all, or at least take most of the well-paying jobs.

If they're so great to live by, build them in Atherton.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#20

Post by boothby »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #15

The rumor is going around on X that foreign enemies of the US (especially China) are trying to influence Americans through social networks against building data centers.

This wouldn't be the first time that homegrown dissent was characterized as foreign meddling. Red Scare is back in vogue.
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