Across the US, Activists Are Organizing to Oppose Data Centers
Justin Hendrix / Sep 14, 2025Audio of this conversation is available via your favorite podcast service.
Demand for computing power is fueling a massive surge in investment in data centers worldwide. McKinsey estimates spending will hit $6.7 trillion by 2030, with more than $1 trillion expected in the U.S. alone over the next five years.
As this boom accelerates, public scrutiny is intensifying. Communities across the country are raising questions about environmental impacts, energy demands, and the broader social and economic consequences of this rapid buildout.
Community meeting at the Tucson Convention Center on August 4, 2025, a public forum to discuss pros and cons of "Project Blue," a massive data center installation proposed by Amazon Web Services, one of the largest economic development projects ever considered by the city and county.(Photo by: Wild Horizons/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
To learn more about these debates—and the efforts to shape the industry’s future—Justin Hendrix spoke with two activists: one working at the national level, and another organizing locally in their own community.
- Vivek Bharathan isa member of the No Desert Data Center Coalition in Tucson, Arizona.
- Steven Renderos is executive director of MediaJustice, an advocacy organization that just released a report titled The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South.
A transcript is forthcoming.
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