SEJ
Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > National (U.S.)

Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [1]

Thousands of energy-hungry, water-gulping data centers are helping fuel the artificial intelligence boom in the United States (and elsewhere). The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at this escalating phenomenon and encourages environmental journalists to look into how it may be playing out in their communities. Ten story ideas and reporting resources to cover data centers’ local impact.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Energy & Fuel [3]
Infrastructure [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
Planning & Growth [6]
Policy [7]
Pollution [8]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility: 
Public [12]
  • Read more about Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [1]

The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [13]

In “We Are Eating the Earth,” author Michael Grunwald explains masterfully how good intentions have led us astray over our food system and climate change, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry. Whether it’s our obsession with meat, myths about biofuels and regenerative agriculture, or feel-good ideas based on bad science, Grunwald argues it’s time for a fundamental shift in values.

SEJ Publication Types: 
BookShelf [14]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [15]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [17]
Economy & Business [18]
Food [19]
Natural Resources [20]
Policy [7]
Science [21]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility: 
Public [12]
  • Read more about The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [13]

Why Tucker Carlson Is Talking About The "Chemtrail" Conspiracy Theory [22]

"Everyone has looked up at the clouds and seen faces, animals, objects. Human brains are hardwired for this kind of whimsy. But some people – perhaps a surprising number – look to the sky and see government plots and wicked deeds written there. Conspiracy theorists say that contrails – long streaks of condensation left by aircraft – are actually chemtrails, clouds of chemical or biological agents dumped on the unsuspecting public for nefarious purposes. Different motives are ascribed, from weather control to mass poisoning."

Environmental Politics [23]
Journalism & Media [5]
Science [21]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Source: The Conversation [24], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about Why Tucker Carlson Is Talking About The "Chemtrail" Conspiracy Theory [22]

"Fresh Warnings As A Maryland Community’s PFAS Crisis Continues" [25]

"A PFAS contamination crisis is continuing to plague a Maryland community as a plume of contaminated groundwater moves through the area, residents and their attorneys said this week."

Chemicals [26]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [23]
Pollution [8]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [9]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [30]
Source: The New Lede [31], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about "Fresh Warnings As A Maryland Community’s PFAS Crisis Continues" [25]

Seasonal Underground Energy Storage in Twin Cities: Old Technology Revived [32]

"Nearly half a century ago, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a clean energy experiment beneath the University of Minnesota with a simple goal: storing hot water for months at a time in an aquifer several hundred feet below ground."

Energy & Fuel [3]
Infrastructure [4]
Technology [33]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [34]
Source: Inside Climate News [35], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about Seasonal Underground Energy Storage in Twin Cities: Old Technology Revived [32]

EPA Panel Warns Plastics Threaten Kids’ Health. Bayer Says Evidence Lacking [36]

"A committee of expert advisers is calling for stronger environmental regulations to protect children from plastics and other harmful chemicals, despite a dissenting industry position claiming there is little evidence that plastic is toxic to children."

Chemicals [26]
Consumer [17]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Politics [23]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Pollution [8]
Technology [33]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Source: The New Lede [38], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about EPA Panel Warns Plastics Threaten Kids’ Health. Bayer Says Evidence Lacking [36]

"New York Pauses Its Landmark Gas Ban In New Buildings" [39]

"New York just slammed the brakes on rules that would’ve prohibited fossil fuels in new homes and businesses."

Climate Change [16]
Economy & Business [18]
Energy & Fuel [3]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Politics [23]
Infrastructure [4]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Technology [33]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [40]
Source: Canary Media [41], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about "New York Pauses Its Landmark Gas Ban In New Buildings" [39]

"The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived" [42]

"A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year."

Activism [43]
Climate Change [16]
Energy & Fuel [3]
Environmental Politics [23]
Infrastructure [4]
Planning & Growth [6]
Pollution [8]
Technology [33]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Source: WIRED [44], 11/17/2025
  • Read more about "The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived" [42]

"Major US Broadcasters Sit Out Cop30 Climate Talks: ‘They’re Missing A Lot’" [45]

"Figures show none of US ‘big four’ – CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox – appear to have sent teams to cover summit in Belém"

Climate Change [16]
Environmental Politics [23]
Environmental Studies [46]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [47]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
Source: Guardian [48], 11/14/2025
  • Read more about "Major US Broadcasters Sit Out Cop30 Climate Talks: ‘They’re Missing A Lot’" [45]

"Does Nature Have Rights?" [49]

"By now, we are accustomed to thinking of climate change in terms of human rights. What if we were to think as much about the rights of nature itself – of pets and backyard birds, coyotes and spruce trees, mountains and rivers, ecosystems and the climate, the air that surrounds us?"

Activism [43]
Biodiversity [50]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Studies [46]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Natural Resources [20]
Water & Oceans [9]
Wildlife [51]
Public [12]
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Source: Yale Climate Connections [52], 11/14/2025
  • Read more about "Does Nature Have Rights?" [49]

Pages

  • « first [53]
  • ‹ previous [54]
  • …
  • 43 [55]
  • 44 [56]
  • 45 [57]
  • 46 [54]
  • 47
  • 48 [58]
  • 49 [59]
  • 50 [60]
  • 51 [61]
  • …
  • next › [58]
  • last » [62]
  • Contact Us  |
  • Donate  |
  • Join  |
  • Members  |
  • Privacy & Security Policies  |
  • Reach SEJ Members  |
  • Renew  |
  • Site Map
The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.

Source URL:https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=46

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/data-centers-local-drain-power-and-water-coming-you [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/cities-towns [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [10] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [11] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [12] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [13] https://www.sej.org/publications/bookshelf/cost-losing-our-sacred-acres [14] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/bookshelf [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [20] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [22] https://www.sej.org/headlines/why-tucker-carlson-talking-about-chemtrail-conspiracy-theory [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [24] https://theconversation.com/why-the-chemtrail-conspiracy-theory-lingers-and-grows-and-why-tucker-carlson-is-talking-about-it-269770?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us [25] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fresh-warnings-maryland-community-s-pfas-crisis-continues [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [30] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [31] https://www.thenewlede.org/2025/11/fresh-warnings-as-a-maryland-communitys-pfas-crisis-continues/ [32] https://www.sej.org/headlines/seasonal-underground-energy-storage-twin-cities-old-technology-revived [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [34] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [35] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15112025/st-paul-minnesota-geothermal-drilling/ [36] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-panel-warns-plastics-threaten-kids-health-bayer-says-evidence-lacking [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [38] https://www.thenewlede.org/2025/11/epa-childrens-health-plastic-pollution/ [39] https://www.sej.org/headlines/new-york-pauses-its-landmark-gas-ban-new-buildings [40] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [41] https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/carbon-free-buildings/new-york-pause-gas-ban-rules [42] https://www.sej.org/headlines/data-center-resistance-has-arrived [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [44] https://www.wired.com/story/the-data-center-resistance-has-arrived/ [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/major-us-broadcasters-sit-out-cop30-climate-talks-they-re-missing-lot [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [48] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/13/cop30-climate-talks-belem-us-broadcasters [49] https://www.sej.org/headlines/does-nature-have-rights [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [52] https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/11/does-nature-have-rights/ [53] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27 [54] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=45 [55] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=42 [56] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=43 [57] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=44 [58] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=47 [59] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=48 [60] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=49 [61] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=50 [62] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/47/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=2619