Mastodawn

Nonilex 20h ago

Why most #politicians are not calling for #DataCenter bans despite #voters’ anger
 Many Americans are furious about the #energy-guzzling behemoths that drive #ArtificialIntelligence, but politicians in both parties are cautious about backing all-out prohibition.

#electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #DataCenters #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/07/ai-backlash-coming-key-midterm-battlegrounds/

Why most politicians are not calling for data center bans despite voters’ anger

Voters are furious about the energy-guzzling behemoths that drive artificial intelligence, but politicians in both parties are cautious about backing all-out bans.

The Washington Post

Nonilex 20h ago

…#Voters across the nation are concerned that the #DataCenters are driving up #electricity #prices & #polluting the #air. More than 70% of Americans oppose building the centers in their local area, acc/to a recent Gallup survey.

…The political energy is slowly beginning to catch up to voter anger. Lawmakers in both parties who had touted the centers as economic boons in their states are backpedaling.

#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power

Nonilex 20h ago

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) paused new tax breaks for the #DataCenters last month after an independent report estimated that they had cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue last year. And #Republicans & #Democrats running for office say they want #AI companies to offset their #electricity usage to tame skyrocketing #power bills.

#energy #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money

Nonilex 20h ago

But few #politicians are embracing grassroots demands for a pause or ban on #DataCenter construction, which some on the left see as a missed opportunity for #Democrats to distinguish themselves ahead of a midterm #election that they hope will hinge on #CostOfLiving concerns.

 #energy #electricity #ClimateChange #AI #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections

Nonilex 20h ago

#Democrats are divided because some trade #unions support the #DataCenters, which create construction #jobs, & because the powerful #tech industry behind them has poured millions into attacking political opponents. #Republicans have largely supported the centers, spurred by #Trump’s enthusiastic backing, & have only recently been raising concerns as they hear from their enraged base.

#energy #electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power

Nonilex 20h ago

The #DataCenters’ footprint encompasses states that are #midterm battlegrounds & will be crucial to determining which party controls the #House & the #Senate next year. Ohio is home to >200 data centers, the 6th-most of any state, acc/to data compiled by the industry group Data Center Map. Georgia, Virginia & Texas host even more.

#energy #electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy

https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/

Nonilex 20h ago

A handful of #progressive leaders, including Sen #BernieSanders (I-Vermont) & Rep #AlexandriaOcasioCortez (D-New York), have pushed #legislation to temporarily ban #DataCenter construction. Local lawmakers in >10 states also introduced bills this year to pause construction. Last week, residents of #MontereyPark, #California approved the nation’s first permanent ban on #DataCenters, with more than 86% of voters supporting the prohibition.

#energy #electricity #ClimateChange #AI #law #midterms

But even Sanders-endorsed candidates in competitive races, including Abdul El-Sayed in #Michigan & Graham Platner in #Maine, have not taken up that mantle.
 “What I don’t want to do is inadvertently exit the playing field... & then cede the policymaking space to folks who don’t want to impose any limitations,” El-Sayed told WaPo.

#energy #electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #DataCenters #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy

Nonilex 19h ago

On Monday, Sanders called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund seeded with a 50% tax on #AI companies’ #stock, so that Americans would own a piece of the industry. Sanders, in an interview, touted the policy. “But I think it’s good politics, as well,” he said. “You are tapping into the concerns that the American people have, & you win #elections when you do that.”

#energy #electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #DataCenters #tech #law #regulations #midterms #money #power #CostOfLiving

Nonilex 19h ago

#Democratic candidates are largely calling for smaller-scale policy interventions, with many saying the #DataCenters should pay for their #electricity usage & stop obscuring details of their development from the communities in which they are built.

“We need to make sure if [data centers] are going to come here & benefit, you need to bring your own #energy, you need to not make all of us pay for it,” Amy Acton, the #Democrat running for #Ohio governor, said in a recent roundtable.

Nonilex 19h ago

Former senator #SherrodBrown, a #Democrat mounting a comeback bid in #Ohio, said he was unaware of the push to get a #DataCenter ban on the ballot in the state. “With #DataCenters, we make sure the investors pay for #electricity. Not the people who live in Zanesville or Coshocton or in Cambridge,” he said.

#energy #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy

Nonilex 19h ago

The issue animated a May debate among the #Democratic candidates running for #Michigan’s open #Senate seat, with El-Sayed calling #AI a “tsunami” coming toward Americans that merits #regulations of the same stringency as those governing public #utilities. State Sen Mallory McMorrow touted her plan to tax the industry to pay for job training, & Rep Haley Stevens, the most centrist Democrat in the race, said she supported building the #DataCenters so long as they pay for their own resources.…

Nonilex 19h ago

Many Republican candidates previously followed the lead of #Trump, who signed an executive order last summer to speed #DataCenter construction. But in recent months, more are beginning to respond to grassroots anger.
 The #Republicans running for governor & Senate in #Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy [🙄] & Sen. Jon Husted, have a history of backing the #DataCenters. But both have recently expressed concern about the centers’ #electricity usage & said they should offset it.

#ClimateChange #CostOfLiving

Nonilex 19h ago

“The goal is to support America’s growing #technology #infrastructure while helping ensure reliable, affordable #energy for local residents,” Husted said in a statement. The senator joined #Trump for a roundtable with #tech companies in March to celebrate their leaders signing a pledge to offset their #electricity costs. Former congressman Mike Rogers, the #Republican Senate candidate in #Michigan, says #DataCenters need to pay for their energy.

#ClimateChange #CostOfLiving #midterms #law #AI

Nonilex 19h ago

“We’re going to have to grapple with it,” said Alex Triantafilou, chair of the #Ohio #Republican Party, pointing to an uptick in community-level anger on the right. 
To the activists pushing for sweeping change, the response has not been swift or substantive enough.
 “The big #corporations that have #money are donating to both sides, so it’s hard for anyone to oppose them,” said Cannelongo, who has not organized for the moratorium but supports other efforts.

#midterms #law #AI #DataCenters

Nonilex 19h ago

#AI companies have poured tens of millions of dollars into the #midterms, backing pro-AI candidates & working to defeat those who seek for #regulation of the industry. Many #unions, which have considerable leverage in the #Democratic Party, also support #DataCenters, which experts say create thousands of short-term construction jobs but fewer permanent ones.
 #energy #electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #tech #law #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy

Nonilex 19h ago

…In #Ohio, 71% of voters said in a recent poll that they support a temporary ban on data centers. Majorities said #DataCenters have a bad effect on the #environment, #energy prices & the #QualityOfLife of people who live near them.

[Unfortunately, this article did not address at all the environmental impacts of data centers, which is huge.]

#electricity #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #AI #tech #law #regulations #midterms #elections #money #power #CostOfLiving #economy

@Nonilex Perhaps people can find a common ground on data centers and big tech rather than having the culture wars help the Epstein class.

Pēteris Krišjānis 19h ago

@Nonilex nice summary.
It is most likely that anti business label can be still very sticky despite data center freeze (not ban) would make sense.
Look, data centers have other uses besides AI.
But I understand overall carefuleness. I would let people to rally bans themselves to avoid labelism.

Katrina Katrinka

@peteriskrisjanis @Nonilex
"Look, data centers have other uses besides AI."

They don't, though. This isn't like the dot com bubble.

"Private equity firms are sinking $50 billion or more a quarter into theoretical data center projects full of what will be years-old GPU technology, despite the fact that there’s no real demand for generative AI compute, and that’s before you get to the grimmest fact of all: that even if you can build these data centers, it will take years and billions of dollars to deliver the power, if it’s even possible to do so."
https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-ai-bubbles-impossible-promises/

The AI Bubble's Impossible Promises

Readers: I’ve done a very generous “free” portion of this newsletter, but I do recommend paying for premium to get the in-depth analysis underpinning the intro. That being said, I want as many people as possible to get the general feel for this piece. Things are insane, and it’

Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At

Pēteris Krišjānis 19h ago

@katrinakatrinka @Nonilex ok, fair, that sound way way worse than I thought.

RobinF❌️👑19h ago

@Nonilex WATER?????

@Nonilex a wealth fund that trump will just steal? No thank you