As data centers move into communities that were barely warned, residents who ask basic questions about water, power, land, and tax breaks are being recast as a threat.
I am not a big fan of trying to control what legal activities people do on their own property. They are not causing a lot of noise, emitting foul odors, or other noxious things. They are mostly being built further out where land is cheap. I would much rather live next to a data center than a hog farm or a feedlot.
I have seen a lot of really stupid things (at least what I feel are stupid things) that cities do to attract businesses to a community to increase money coming in to provide all those services that we do want. I would much rather see them bringing in data centers than trying some pie in the sky high speed rail system that costs billions of dollars and never gets finished. That is always a popular one. That or a big event center/sports arena.
It is not only AI that data centers do. I am quite sure that this website is running in data centers. They run things on different data centers for redundancy so if one is out of commission, there is another that will be able to handle things while the first is being fixed. More and more of our life centers around computers. Some of that is good and some is bad. Most is so new that we won't really know the true effects for years.
A few days ago I came home to red and blue chalk marks halfway up my driveway, along with flags dotting the sites for underground cables about to be laid. My neighbors are quite blithe about it, writing it off as a much-needed infrastructure upgrade—which I’m sure it is, in part.
However, the questions remain: why wasn’t I informed that workers would be in my property? And what else is included in this “infrastructure upgrade”?
I live in a remote rural area in Southern Colorado, where we practically count water drop by drop. Will take a look at the map to see if any of these centers are planned for around here. Thanks for all you do.
The public notifications for that kind of thing are usually made at city or county planning commission meetings rather than to individuals.
Those utility easements are built into the property boundaries and they don't have to notify anyone as they are working in an area specifically designated for those activities.
Most times, it is moving electrical and communication lines down underground rather than having them on poles for reliability.
The only way to slow down or stop these projects is to sue. Defeating the politicians takes a long time and there is no guarantee that the incumbents will lose. A sympathetic judge can get results much faster and these communities look like they have a good case.
I am not a big fan of trying to control what legal activities people do on their own property. They are not causing a lot of noise, emitting foul odors, or other noxious things. They are mostly being built further out where land is cheap. I would much rather live next to a data center than a hog farm or a feedlot.
I have seen a lot of really stupid things (at least what I feel are stupid things) that cities do to attract businesses to a community to increase money coming in to provide all those services that we do want. I would much rather see them bringing in data centers than trying some pie in the sky high speed rail system that costs billions of dollars and never gets finished. That is always a popular one. That or a big event center/sports arena.
It is not only AI that data centers do. I am quite sure that this website is running in data centers. They run things on different data centers for redundancy so if one is out of commission, there is another that will be able to handle things while the first is being fixed. More and more of our life centers around computers. Some of that is good and some is bad. Most is so new that we won't really know the true effects for years.
Thank you. Just subscribed.
A few days ago I came home to red and blue chalk marks halfway up my driveway, along with flags dotting the sites for underground cables about to be laid. My neighbors are quite blithe about it, writing it off as a much-needed infrastructure upgrade—which I’m sure it is, in part.
However, the questions remain: why wasn’t I informed that workers would be in my property? And what else is included in this “infrastructure upgrade”?
I live in a remote rural area in Southern Colorado, where we practically count water drop by drop. Will take a look at the map to see if any of these centers are planned for around here. Thanks for all you do.
The public notifications for that kind of thing are usually made at city or county planning commission meetings rather than to individuals.
Those utility easements are built into the property boundaries and they don't have to notify anyone as they are working in an area specifically designated for those activities.
Most times, it is moving electrical and communication lines down underground rather than having them on poles for reliability.
Yessss 🙄 I found this out from a neighbor. Paranoia strikes deep, you know.
It is the audacity of the tax credits they will receive each year , that got me . Good to hear about how people are fighting back.
The only way to slow down or stop these projects is to sue. Defeating the politicians takes a long time and there is no guarantee that the incumbents will lose. A sympathetic judge can get results much faster and these communities look like they have a good case.