#unitedstates #ai #maine #moratorium

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2026/04/14/maine-poised-to-enact-first-state-ai-data-center-moratorium/?ms=some_bk_04142026_NAT-c3-me-data-center-bill-pr&oms=some_bk_04142026_NAT-c3-me-data-center-bill-pr

With First-of-Its-Kind Bill, #BernieSanders and #AOC Propose #Moratorium on New #AI #DataCenters

“These massive facilities are sucking up precious #water resources, paving over #farmland, driving #ClimateChange, and disrupting the fabric of communities,” said one supporter of the new legislation.

by Jake Johnson, Mar 25, 2026

"Two of the leading progressives in the US Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, announced legislation on Wednesday that would impose a nationwide moratorium on the construction of new artificial intelligence data centers amid mounting concerns over their insatiable consumption of power and water resources, impacts on the climate, and other harms.

"Sanders’ (I-Vt.) office said in a press release announcing the #ArtificialIntelligence #DataCenterMoratorium Act that the construction pause would remain in effect 'until strong national safeguards are in place to protect workers, consumers, and communities, defend privacy and #CivilRights, and ensure these technologies do not harm our #environment.'

"Sanders and #OcasioCortez (D-NY) are set to formally introduce their legislation at a press conference on Wednesday at 4 pm ET.

"Food & Water Watch (#FWW), which last year became the first national organization in the US to call for a total moratorium on the approval of new AI data centers, celebrated the first-of-its-kind bill and called on other members of Congress to 'move quickly to sponsor, champion, and pass' it. FWW’s groundbreaking call for a national AI data center moratorium was later echoed by hundreds of advocacy organizations at the state and national levels.

" 'We need a halt to the explosive growth of new AI data center construction now, because political and community leaders across the country have been caught completely off guard by this aggressive, profit-hungry industry,' Mitch Jones, FWW’s managing director of policy and litigation, said in a statement Wednesday. 'It has yet to be determined if—not how—the industry can ever operate in a manner that sufficiently protects people and society from the profusion of inherent hazards and harms that data centers bring wherever they appear.' "

Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ai-data-center-moratorium

#AWS #NoDatacenters #NoAI #NoNukesForAI #UnrestrictedGrowth #WaterIsLife #NoisePollution #AISucks #USPol

"Senator Bernie Sanders, AOC Set To Introduce Data Center Moratorium Bill"

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are set to introduce legislation on Wednesday barring the construction of the data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom until certain conditions are met.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/latest-news-live-updates_n_69c10d91e4b03dbe678a161f/liveblog_69c34b68e4b0e447525ae963

#AI #aoc #bernie #moratorium #dataCentres