@timbray When a new data centre is built it will take resources from the utility or add its own new generation. In the Bad Place (and many other places) this means it's likely adding new fossil fuel consumption infrastructure and increasing carbon emissions. Until recently that country was matching growth in utility generation with renewables: growth was 'green'. That has changed due to their stupidity and due to unregulated new generation like Musk's data centre(s) etc.

It's a bit dumb to say cars are worse because while yes they are bad, in sane countries we are starting to manage that problem well with electrification, changes to the fleet.

New data centres are generally bad, because they are designed to generate slop for the enrichment of the already very harmfully wealthy class and because they require new power generation that is almost certainly not coming from renewables.