Hey so I know this is more my fandom blog, but this is extremely important and I wanted to bring some attention to it:
Recently, a new AI data center in northern Utah (my home) spearheaded by Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful) was fast tracked and approved despite vehement opposition from locals. This would be the biggest data center IN THE WORLD! It would use more power in a day than the ENTIRE STATE OF UTAH. Not to mention, we’re already in a severe drought and have a dwindling Great Salt Lake and worsening air quality. The Grest Salt Lake shrinking would release the toxic dust that lays on the lakebed, worsening the public health of Utah with literally airborn poison. This could very well make Utah almost impossible to live in.
Additionally, the data center is proposed to be built on a Native American burial ground, according to the former Chief of the Shoshone Nation, Derren Perry.
A lot of us locals are reeling, trying to fire out exactly what our next steps are to keep fighting this. We’re still trying to regroup and find the best way to help. The first step we’ve made is boycotting anything Kevin O’Leary and his company may own or hold significant stock in. A definitive list rn is still being worked on since he has such a diverse financial portfolio. The biggest one we have found is a complete boycott of anything Scrub Daddy related. This isn’t just to hurt his wallet, this is to send a message: Utah is not for sale and billionaires coming in and meddling with someone else’s home will not be tolerated.
A big one to help out is anyone in the Northern Utah region should avoid J and J Nursery at all.
A few helpful links of you want to learn more.
Kevin O'Leary's proposed 40,000-acre Utah AI data center faces pushback as officials weigh a project expected to use more power than the sta
The dust blowing from the dry bed of the Great Salt Lake is creating a serious public health threat, two environmental nonprofits warn, that
Kevin O'Leary is dismissing critics of his Utah data center, suggesting some of the opposition is being amplified by artificial intelligence
Parry says the future of the Great Salt Lake depends not only on technology and growth, but on restoring balance between knowledge systems.
I appreciate your time and attention on this. I know there are so many things going on in the world right now that it makes it hard to even think about the smaller disasters affecting communities. This is an issue that’s so incredibly important to me personally because if the environmental conditions get bad enough, my health would be at an immediate risk, and I’d have to permanently relocate from the only place I’ve ever called home. This place is my home, it’s in my blood. I refuse to let some rich asshole play use us as his dumping ground for the stuff he doesn’t want to have to deal with.
