…#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

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

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

#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

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/

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

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

#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.

#CostOfLiving

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