“Darren Blanchard was speaking in Claremore, Oklahoma against a planned data center when two officers told him to leave. They followed him to the front as he tried to hand documents to the council and cuffed him as the crowd booed. Residents are increasingly clashing with developers over utility rates and farmland in various states.— Video Still/The Other 98.
People around the country are appalled and outraged at what AI data centers are doing to their communities — from noise, air and water pollution, to massive tax breaks that cost the local taxpayers, to loss of local jobs, to increased electricity and water rates, to secret deals done with elected officials. And communities are fighting back. When people organize, they can be successful.
If you have a story about local opposition to AI data centers, please email it to peoplestribune@gmail.com or leave on our website HERE.
Below are videos from communities fighting data centers in different states, representing a cross-section of what’s going on in the U.S.:
LOWELL MASSACHUSETTS
Noise from the data center is a constant hum in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The City of Lowell sold out the residents by secretly agreeing to the data center plans.
MOUNT SHASTA AREA OF CALIFORNIA
The water in the Mount Shasta area is some of the cleanest water in all of North America, and the data center wants it. Agriculture, livestock and people in the area will be affected by air and water pollution.
EASTERN AREA OF OREGON
A cluster of Amazon data centers polluted the drinking water of 45,000 people. People sued and Amazon paid but admitted no guilt.
CLAREMORE, OKLAHOMA
A farmer speaking out against a data center at a city council meeting was handcuffed and charged with criminal trespass, a $200 offense, for speaking a few seconds over the 3-minute time limit.
Is Big Tech Draining Georgia of Water? The Shocking Truth Behind a Data Center Using 500,000 Gallons of Water Every Day!” Watch Video!
Click to read articles on the People’s Tribune’s Stopping Data Centers page for more information on this fight.
Karel Riley works with the People’s Tribuneand Tribuno del Pueblo, as a writer and contributor on human rights and women’s issues. “I’ve been a feminist since early adulthood. As a clerical worker, I joined a union drive with AFSCME seeking comparable wages to men for female-dominated jobs, and we were partially successful. In the mid-80’s our union participated in the historic Hormel strike in Minnesota. Later, I joined support for a local welfare rights organization,” she says.
