environmentamerica.org
Data center moratorium now
Data centers—large warehouses full of computer servers—are cropping up at record speeds across the country. There are already more than 3,000 data centers in operation in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from Data Center Map. More than 1,500 more are currently in various stages of development, driven in large part by a surge in demand for computing capacity to power artificial intelligence (AI). These data centers range across all 50 states. There are hundreds of data centers in the works that are classified as “hyperscale,” meaning they are particularly large and energy-intensive. On average, data centers are as large as hundreds of football fields, and the biggest ones can be even larger. They’re packed from floor to ceiling with computer servers that run hot enough to require massive fans and other cooling equipment to keep them operating efficiently. All that machinery can use enormous amounts of energy, guzzle up water and generate as much noise as an electric chainsaw — and it all runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. AI holds both promise and perils, but one thing is certain: To realize the potential of AI in...
