"In Virginia, a small conservation group is leading the fight against the powerful and secretive data center industry."

"A growing climate threat from an industry worth trillions is spreading across the globe: data centers.

The football-field-size buildings, which house the millions of servers that make the internet work, are not inherently evil. But their unchecked expansion—driven primarily by artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency—is driving a resurgence in coal power and derailing states’ clean energy transition plans.

The IEA estimates that in the next two years, data centers could consume as much energy as the United Kingdom and Germany combined, with a carbon footprint on par with the aviation industry.

And right now, there are few concerted activist movements dedicated to holding the tech industry accountable for these buildings’ massive climate impact."

Arielle Samuelson reports for HEATED June 13, 2024. [2]