Andrew Mangan at Daily Kos:

Let me make you an offer. I want to build a warehouse of machinery that will fill the ears of every passerby with the soft whine of industrial noise, will drink up your water reserves so much it lowers the pressure in your shower, and will jack up your utility bills—if not force your town to risk losing its access to electricity altogether—all in support of a technology expected to cost millions of Americans their jobs. In return, my warehouse will hypothetically provide you with significant tax revenue, though you will need to give me a 90% tax abatement for the next 20 years. Fair trade? It is little surprise the vast majority of Americans say no. In fact, about half say, “Hell no.” Over 7 in 10 Americans oppose the idea of an AI-focused data center being built in their area, according to a new poll from Gallup. Nearly half (48%) “strongly oppose” it.  Compared with Democrats and independents, Republicans are the most open to the idea—and 63% oppose it. In fact, more Republicans “strongly oppose” building a data center nearby (39%) than favor it by any degree (25% somewhat favor, 9% strongly favor).

Among those who oppose local data-center projects, 50% cite the facilities’ consumption of vital resources, like water and electricity. Another 20% point to increased costs, especially utility bills.  [...] In Gallup’s data, only 27% of Americans favor constructing a data center in their local area, including 7% who strongly support it. The top benefit, cited by 55% of these proponents, is job opportunities. The catch is, while data centers do require hundreds of workers during construction, they bring very few permanent jobs to an area. For example, Illinois requires data centers to employ at least 20 full-time workers to score a state tax incentive, and among facilities that received that incentive, 22 out of 27 created exactly 20 full-time jobs. The subsidized facility that made the most new jobs produced just 50.

[...] Both red and blue states are weighing temporary bans on new data centers. Republican Nancy Mace, the House’s most vocal transphobe, is pushing for one in South Carolina. And even Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, signed a law putting some guardrails on the industry.  And while progressive stalwarts New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have taken aim at the issue, more Democratic lawmakers would do well to speak out and meet the moment. Because for many voters, the moment is here. Earlier this year, just south of St. Louis, the city council in the small town of Festus, Missouri, approved an agreement to build a 360-acre data center near a residential area. In text messages, an unnamed city official referred to the vocal community opposition as “a sideshow of uneducated people.” A week after the contract’s approval, Festus voted out half the council members, replacing them with candidates who had run on shredding the contract.

Most Americans cannot agree on most political issues anymore, but here is one that people of all affiliations can agree on: majorities, regardless of political affiliation, do NOT want data centers, per a Gallup poll in the early half of March.

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Somewhere in the West

Continuing my month long series of posts with images made in New Mexico with the Great Divide as my focus or jumping off point: a few pictures made along Motel Row, on Route 66, through Gallup.

Somewhere in the West

Continuing my month long series of posts with images made in New Mexico with the Great Divide as my focus or jumping off point: an eastbound train rolls by Pyramid Rock. This locale is just seven miles east of downtown Gallup, between the Fire Rock Navajo Casino and the Navajo Technical University Innovation Center.

I posted this last month with the railroad images made on the trip, but really like this crop as it emphasizes the land forms over the train.

Joel Sternfeld

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A record 55% of Americans say their financial situation is worsening, with many expressing anxiety about covering monthly bills and making minimum credit card payments, according to a new Gallup poll.  That percentage is the highest Gallup has recorded since it began asking Americans about their finances in 2001, showing consumers are less optimistic than they were during the COVID-19 pandemic in…