Communities Against the Injustice of Data Centers

“I think grassroots mobilization is incredibly important,” data center expert, Steven Gonzalez Monserrate tells me. “Lately, grassroots mobilization is something that is having a much greater effect than I think a lot of folks in the data center industry were expecting. In the case of Chandler, Arizona, I was with a group of individuals who were experiencing noise pollution as a result of living near data centers. They successfully, after many years of meetings and protesting, and organizing as a community, were able to get the first city noise ordinance passed that is specifically written for data centers in the USA.”

Nobody would ever want to live beside a data center. They are big ugly warehouses. They are very noisy. There are air pollution dangers. They take huge quantities of water and electricity. They bring very few jobs. “Just a dozen people, or two dozen people, run a facility that is consuming as much electricity as a small city,” Steven says. “A data center life is between five and twenty years. This is not a permanent industry. It is extractive, like mines.”

What should a community do where they hear that a data center wants to set up in their area?

1. Organize early: Data centers are super secretive and try and do deals behind the scenes so that by the time of the launch announcement it feels like nothing can be done. It is thus essential to make some noise and raise awareness as soon as possible.
2. Speak with local politicians. Hold them to account. Often they have been kept out of the loop by central government and may well have been misinformed.
3. Talk to local media. They can often be the best champions.
4. Reach out internationally. There is a network emerging all over the world facing the exact same issues. They can be a great support.
5. Find experts in: a. Water and electricity infrastructure b. Zoning laws c. Data center design
6. Ask about subsidies. Even though data centers are highly profitable, they use their power to squeeze even more out of the community. Steven Gonzalez says that many governments give data centers subsidies that “are fundamentally unsustainable.”
7. How does the data center adhere to zoning laws? Have they been given special treatment?
8. How much electricity will they use? What price are they paying? Are they using diesel for their backup generators? Under what conditions will they be using these generators?
9. Are they using fresh water? Why? Why aren’t they using waste water or sea water? How much water will they use? How much water will they keep as backup? What chemicals are going to be used to treat the water? How is their waste water treated?
10. What’s the impact on noise and air pollution?
11. How many local jobs are they bringing for the local community?
12. What tax will they be pay?
13. Whose data is being stored? From which countries?

Steven Gonzalez Monserrate – Thirsty Data: Data Centers increasing impact on fresh water

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