Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built • Hacker News Board

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

#111

Post by inigyou » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:00 PM UTC

acdha wrote: post #110

inigyou wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most industry doesn't bring positive externalities for those nearby. What does a paper mill bring?

They used to bring lots of jobs which didn’t require specialization. That’s not saying they didn’t have real negative impacts but that people were more willing to accept that as a tradeoff when it was a middle-class living for an entire neighborhood. Data centers are getting resistance now because anyone who lives nearby is getting pollution and higher prices with no compensation: they’re not going to work there and…

They should pay high taxes or something. Or come with a swimming pool powered by waste heat.

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

#112

Post by dlcarrier » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:05 PM UTC

surgical_fire wrote: post #84

dlcarrier wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do like living and working in buildings, using computers, refrigeration systems and transit infrastructure, getting medical care, and eating cooked food, so I think building things is by far a net positive. Also, banking, scientific research, offsite backups, and the internet have been very useful, so data centers are pretty great.

May they build a data center next to your home. It's always nice to be close to things we cherish dearly.

I used to work two lots down from one. I wouldn't notice at all if it was next to my house. The only way to distinguish it from any other business in the office park was the slightly higher security. There was also a charter school next to it, and it was much more disruptive than the data center.

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

#113

Post by dlcarrier » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC

Legend2440 wrote: post #86

surgical_fire wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May they build a data center next to your home. It's always nice to be close to things we cherish dearly.

There is a data center in my town. I drove by it and don't get the fuss. It's a box in an industrial park. It makes a little bit of noise but not nearly as much as the paper factory next to it. People just like to whine.

A paper factory, on the other hand, smells like barf and has huge vats of chemicals that will dissolve you. It probably uses also more power than a data center, at a much worse power factor.

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

#114

Post by bpodgursky » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC

palmotea wrote: post #91

bpodgursky wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of industrial capacity is a positive externality for the country not that it makes someone's backyard prettier.

> The point of industrial capacity is a positive externality for the country not that it makes someone's backyard prettier. Yeah, that' true. What's the problem with building them in Atherton, then? The nation will get the same positive externalities if they're built there. Hell, build ones ringing the houses of Sam Altman and Dario Amodei. Larry Ellison has a whole island that could be filled with data centers. Seem…

Technologists would be thrilled to build them in California? This is such a weird and fake criticism, California has driven manufacturing and industry out of the state, SF tech companies don't want to build in Nevada, they are forced to by regulations.

Like, none of the things you proposed doing are legal in the jurisdictions mentioned. It is NOT LEGAL for Sam Altman to build a hyperscale data center in his backyard. It is NOT LEGAL for Larry Ellison to build a hyperscale data center on his island.

It's bad to criticize people for not doing things the legal system prohibits them from doing

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

#115

Post by bofadeez » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #109

threatofrain wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see this as an American thing if you want... but you might look at the rest of the world to ask whether you're trying to convince the world to un-invent gunpowder. If China gave superior paid offerings we might just start transferring all our data over to them instead. Anyways, have we considered building our compute infrastructure in China's backyard instead?

All your comments are just China China China China China. AI as envisioned by billionaires is pretty stupid. I think we'd be better off if we tricked China into building it.

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

#116

Post by bofadeez » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:43 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #107

palmotea wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Most industry doesn't bring positive externalities for those nearby. What does a paper mill bring?

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

#117

Post by Dylan16807 » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:44 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #106

Dylan16807 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Why wouldn't we lament losing it? If all else was solved, a DC is just as valid industry as any other. The fact that the provided service is nonphysical doesn't matter - every industry is different. Should probably pay taxes though, and not terrorize the neighbors.

The reasons to care about "industry" in particular are process knowledge and highly skilled labor and supply chains. Datacenters have very little involvement in any of those. And they don't bring many jobs.

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

#118

Post by bofadeez » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:44 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #106

Dylan16807 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Why wouldn't we lament losing it? If all else was solved, a DC is just as valid industry as any other. The fact that the provided service is nonphysical doesn't matter - every industry is different. Should probably pay taxes though, and not terrorize the neighbors.

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

#119

Post by bofadeez » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:45 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #105

archagon wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An unsourced rumor going around a notoriously right-wing social media site? Definitely credible. This is basically a content-free comment that only serves to rile up the community.

Is the left wing really any better?

Well according to Fable both parties have a good point. But Fable definitely needs data centers so the economy can continue chugging along.

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

#120

Post by dlcarrier » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:47 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #94

dlcarrier wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do like living and working in buildings, using computers, refrigeration systems and transit infrastructure, getting medical care, and eating cooked food, so I think building things is by far a net positive. Also, banking, scientific research, offsite backups, and the internet have been very useful, so data centers are pretty great.

That's dismissive to my point. Society built itself up. Corporations that suck on society's tit and give nothing back, demand profits, and continue to skim off the top are not Mother Teresa.

I've had great experiences with most every large corporation I've chosen to deal with, from suppliers like Toyota with their cars and Perrigo with their pharmaceuticals to distributors like Costco and WinCo Foods, and marketplaces like Craigslist and eBay. The countless smaller S corps I deal with have been even better. I've also benefited greatly from nonprofit corporations like the Wikimedia Foundation, American Automobile Association, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

There are plenty of corporations that I haven't had a great time with, so I just don't do business with them. Amazon's marketplace search doesn't support boolean operators and their sort by price feature doesn't work, so I buy from eBay instead. Wal Mart doesn't have as good of products or as helpful of employees as WinCo, so I buy from the latter.

The only corporations that I've had bad experiences with but continue to patronize are: Comcast, Wells Fargo, and PG&E. Just because they treat me horribly doesn't mean I blame any of their wrongdoing on the other corporations I do business with. Their use of tax breaks is far from the worst problem. They all have contracts with various government organizations which force me to do business with them, when I would leave immediately if I had a choice.

Granted, I've had much better experiences with those three than with Department of Motor Vehicles and the Franchise Tax Board, so I'm probably better off with those agreements in place than if the government organizations themselves were providing internet access, servicing my mortgage, and suppling natural gas. Then again, what is a government except the most powerful corporation?

I don't like doing business with corporations that have police and an army backing them, but otherwise the rest of the corporations I deal with have been great.