this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2026
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I'm making sure that the argument is going to be understood by lay people.
It is relatively easy to get people to rally against building a coal power plant in their community. My concern is that people are going to say not to build a data center because it is going to be powered by coal and the data center rep is going to say that a coal power plant isn't going to be built on site.
That data center would still get built because there is going to be a performative meeting where planning officials ban building the power plant, but then a data center operator buys a coal power plant about to be decommissioned and decides to keep it going to fuel the data center without having to go through the planning hurdles of getting that plant built.
I'm just trying to make sure that the arguments make sense to people who aren't thinking through it as much as you.
Many residents' electricity bills are skyrocketing due to the predicted demand of data centers. It's not as hard to convince people to oppose building more if they know it's due to more data centers. The problem is convincing many that it's the reason the bills are so high and not blaming windmill or solar power. The last part isn't always easy.
I completely agree, and it is a good idea to highlight that there will be increased utility bills by allowing for data center construction.
Then don't focus on the pollution, but the fresh water reserves being depleted. Ya got sound thoughts, to me; I wouldn't try to complicate it (if I could help it)
Lay people lie where under scrutiny. Meet them somewheres in the middle, if you're so determined. We're uninformed, not incapable
Exactly. There are good reasons to argue against building data centers, including impacting fresh water resources.