Poll: 75% of Americans oppose data centers near their homes

A recent Gallup poll reveals that 75% of Americans oppose data centers near their homes, citing concerns about environmental issues and public health. 

As Ray Levy Uyeda explains in Prism, "These numbers not only paint a stark picture of the massive backlash to the rapid and rapacious buildout of data processing facilities (some of which consume enough energy to power a midsize city), but they’re also an indicator that the public feels very differently than the corporations pushing for their construction."

Across the country, cities and states are moving to regulate data centers, with many of them putting in place temporary moratoriums on the facilities. "Communities that are already forced to contend with the consequences of data centers warn of their near-constant noise pollution, voracious consumption of water, and discharge of pollutants into local ecosystems." Opponents are also concerned about the potential for data centers to raise the cost of energy for all residents in the surrounding community. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 14 states have introduced data center legislation, but no moratorium has been passed at the state level. Only one city has passed a full ban (not a temporary moratorium): Monterey Park, California, where a ban on data centers was approved by 86.3% of voters this June.

As for the argument that data centers bring jobs and economic development to the region: "According to Food & Water Watch research, one permanent job in the data center industry costs $13 million of investment. In Virginia, which has become ground zero for data center development, a non-data-center job requires an investment of about $137,000."