"NO" to Data Centers

[onawah]

I think you nailed it. It feels to me like the purpose of data centers is to actually help bring about a very negative transhumanist agenda.
One more toxic, underhanded way in which the controllers hope to subvert humanity's natural process of evolution.
A good description of that change is spelled out in The Ethical Skeptic's article "What is Agency?" posted here:
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1719912

Posted by shaberon (here)
The absolutely staggering size of the total data centers would seem to go beyond the needs of the camera network, and I'm not understanding the purpose or how it has monetary value. Even if I wanted the cameras, I would still be at a loss as to the existence of the rest of it. Seems speculative. Very nearly meets the definition of paranormal.

On a moral level, I feel that if these resources are available, they have to be used for the obvious betterment of society. I've been unable to find that actually happening, and, so, this explains the relative theft of well being.

[bojancan]

What Can We Do?

The companies behind the data center boom are moving quickly into communities across the region, many with promises of prosperity. But some communities are pushing back and saying that data centers are not worth the health and environmental impacts. If you agree with that sentiment, there are steps you can take to combat data centers in your backyard.

First, check if your municipality has a data center ordinance. If not, urge officials to adopt one.

Then, identify opportunities for community participation before the proposed data center is approved. Will a public hearing be required? If so, take this opportunity to express your concerns and to share this resource with other community members.

Next, reference nuisance control ordinances (rules for limiting noise, light, and vibrations), plus zoning laws that would restrict new data centers in your region.
If the data center must be built, advocate for limiting the use of fossil fuels in both everyday operations and generator backups. Encourage decision makers and developers to utilize renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Finally, urge decision makers to require any facility to report their emissions and share an emergency preparedness plan with the community.

https://www.environmentalhealthproje...f-data-centers

[onawah]

Given what a perilous state the electric grid is already in due to the diminishment of the Earth's protective magnetic field as the ongoing pole reversal continues (see the thread Geomagnetic Reversals and Ice Ages) it appears there is a plot afoot to bring the grid down even more quickly.
Meanwhile, the political debates and countless other lesser issues continue to preoccupy the public while the veritable rug is being pulled out from under humanity's feet.
The days remaining to this paradigm are dwindling more all the time.

[Bill Ryan]

An early-morning thought here.

It has to be possible that the new escalation threat in the Iran war, combined with an imminent severe oil shock (and an accompanying helium shock, which affects the manufacturing of GPUs), might combine to end up crashing the global and/or US economy. AI stocks might be the first to be sold off, and if there's a severe energy shortage as well data centers will be massively affected.

The whole precarious house of cards really might come crashing down.

[Raskolnikov]

Trump told the EPA, "You have to convince your community. You can't fight it. You have to go with it. If you don't take all that money, somebody else is going to take it." I'll hold my tongue...

Trump Says 'Very Smart Communities' Really Want Data Centers: 'They're Begging for Them'

Trump advocates for AI data centres, promising economic benefits despite public concerns over rising utility costs.

Donald Trump expanded his 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' to shield American households from utility price hikes caused by the massive electricity demands of AI data centres

US President Donald Trump defended the rapid spread of AI data centres on Thursday, saying 'very smart communities' want the projects even as voters worry about higher electricity bills, water use and local disruption.

Trump made the remarks while expanding his voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a White House-backed commitment meant to stop ordinary consumers from paying for the electricity and grid upgrades demanded by new data centres.

'You have communities that really want the data centres,' Trump said. 'They are begging for them. Very smart communities.'

He argued that towns and cities should embrace the projects because they bring investment, jobs and tax revenue with 'very little actual disruption.'

'You have to convince your community,' Trump said separately at the Environmental Protection Agency. 'You can't fight it. You have to go with it.' He added: 'If you don't take all that money, somebody else is going to take it.'

What the Pledge Is Supposed to Do

The pledge says data centre operators should bring, build or pay for the power they use, rather than pushing those costs on to households and small businesses. It also calls on operators to pay for related infrastructure, invest in local communities and, where possible, make backup power available during emergencies.

The White House said the pledge has now been signed by 23 governors and at least 187 companies, including 55 utilities and 27 data centre developers. Major signatories include NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power, Southern Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric.

The administration says the expanded pledge now covers 80% of power delivered to US homes and businesses and will protect 263 million Americans when a data centre is built nearby.

Trump Says Bills Will Come Down

Trump promised that the arrangement would lower utility bills because companies building data centres would also help create more power.

'Electricity bills for American families will actually come down,' he said. 'They're going to have a lot of electricity left over, and they'll put that into the grid.'

That claim is central to the White House argument. AI companies need huge amounts of electricity to power servers, cooling systems and cloud infrastructure. If they fund new generation and grid upgrades themselves, the administration says communities can gain jobs and tax revenue without forcing residents to subsidise the boom.

Critics Call the Plan Too Weak

The pledge has not convinced everyone. It is voluntary, and critics across the political spectrum have questioned whether it can actually prevent utilities from passing costs to customers. Power prices are usually shaped by state regulators, utilities and electricity buyers, not by a White House pledge alone.

The concern is not theoretical. A recent analysis by ICF, a consulting and technology services company, estimated that rising electricity demand could push monthly utility bills up by 15% to 40% by 2030.

Voters are also worried about land use, water demand, school impacts and whether data centres make communities more expensive and less livable. Opposition has spread across party lines, including in rural Texas, where frustration over new projects has grown.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-defe...ncerns-1810482

[Raskolnikov]

Erin Brockovich recently posted these to her Substack page, found here: https://substack.com/@erinbrockovich. The people of Texas have had enough.

"Going LIVE again this Thursday with two special guests… One is Clayton Tucker. He’s been going to City Council meetings across Texas. You can see this clip of him in Lubbock.

Clayton is a fourth-generation cattle farmer from Lampasas, Texas, who serves as secretary of the Texas Farmers Union. He is currently a candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. Tucker has been an outspoken voice on the strain that drought, land loss, and now data center development are placing on Texas agriculture, and has called for stronger state oversight of data centers' water and power use."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FcbTDgo1Sh4

"Our other incredible guest for tomorrow’s LIVE (7/23) is Rep. Vikki Goodwin, who is serving her fourth term in the Texas Legislature, representing parts of Austin and the Lake Travis area, and is currently running for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. Earlier this month, she called for a special legislative session to address the data center crisis in Texas.

Bring your questions! Bring your notebooks!"

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Diik0wkzx74

[bojancan]

Today again Erin Brockovich about Data centres...

Something massive is quietly draining America's power supply, and it isn't what you think. Renowned consumer advocate Erin Brockovich joins Jim Acosta to expose the hidden corporate decisions pushing our electricity infrastructure to a breaking point.

While extreme weather gets the blame, a quiet surge in data center demands and outdated infrastructure is creating a perfect storm for total grid overload. In this deep-dive from The Jim Acosta Show.. Erin Brockovich reveals the structural vulnerabilities that officials are ignoring—and why the threat of widespread blackouts is closer than ever.

July, 27
Jim Acosta
313K subscribers

Why America’s Power Grid Is Suddenly Failing

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Kwp257sNH0

[shaberon]

This one is worse than Covid, because it is more permanent-er.

Or, as long-lasting as it can make itself to be.

Will anyone ever use this?

The idea on the Arabian peninsula appears to be, here, you don't have to export your energy, just use it to power these things. That would seem to be an ideal market. However one such Amazon facility is no longer there as of a few days ago.

So, this is probably not the band-aid that will restore American sovereignty in Mecca. This is from two weeks ago, but seems to be a pretty strong hint the value isn't there:

July 13 (Reuters) - Tech stocks fell sharply and government bond yields rose on Monday as investors grappled with concerns over a fresh escalation in ​the Middle East conflict and valuations in AI-related shares.

MSCI's main world stocks index <.MIWD00000PUS,> fell 0.31%. Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX was down 0.10%, with tech stocks (.SX8P), falling 0.70%.

Nasdaq futures dropped 0.90%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.25% and Dow E-minis were flat . Japan's Nikkei <.N225> fell 1.9%.

"if this (an ​escalation in the Middle East) leads to markets selling off, RBC BlueBay suspects that this price action could be an attractive entry point to add risk, unless the attitude ​within the U.S. administration towards putting boots on the ground in Iran were to suddenly change, which for now seems unlikely," said Mark ⁠Dowding, BlueBay CIO, RBC BlueBay Asset Management.

AI VALUATIONS IN FOCUS

South Korea's (.KS11) formerly red-hot KOSPI sank 7.6%, having already lost almost 8% last week, as leveraged bets on semiconductor shares came under pressure. The ​market has emerged as a key global barometer for chip-sector sentiment and further losses could ripple out more broadly.

U.S.-listed shares of SK Hynix fell 9.3% in the U.S. pre-market, after jumping almost 14% in their Nasdaq ‌debut on Friday.

"All ⁠eyes on the AI capex trajectory: rising concerns around the sustainability of the AI capex boom appear to have been the main catalyst for the momentum wobble," BofA said, adding that the bank remained positioned for a continued momentum reversal.

In that sense, Bank of America does not like "added risk", which is like betting on a loser, if you win, you win big. This sounds good to others:

"Tech continues to screen highly in our models, supported by stand out earnings growth/momentum and attractive valuations," analysts at Citi wrote in a note.

"While AI volatility may remain ​elevated over the coming quarter, we maintain our ​Overweight stance on global IT and the ⁠U.S.," they added. "We pair these growth exposures with over weights in cyclical regions/sectors, including Japan, financials and materials."

Meanwhile, domestically, manufacturing continues to lag and the government is screaming for money:

The Commerce Department announced Thursday that U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.3% in June, following May’s revised drop of 4.0%. The data was weaker than expected, as the consensus view of economists called for an increase of 1.6%.

Core durable goods, which strip out the volatile transportation sector, rose 0.6% last month, also missing consensus forecasts for a 0.9% reading.

Real yields on long-term bonds hit decade-highs last week...

The product is mindless or pointless. What's going on is people are betting on semi-conductor futures. It's like a huge gambling casino. It doesn't care if anything works or is even a good idea; it just has to have something to gamble on. You are victimized by it being any game someone wants to play, because they do whatever they want.

If these transactions fail to carry the momentum that, say, controlling Arabia is accustomed to giving, what's left?

Infinite growth finally surpasses finite resources? Oops.

At best, a waste, and in all probability, the end of everything.

[Raskolnikov]

Not sure if this has been posted already. It's Executive Order 14318 dated July 23, 2025, titled: ACCELERATING FEDERAL PERMITTING OF DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 14318

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section  1. Policy and Purpose. My Administration has inaugurated a golden age for American manufacturing and technological dominance. We will pursue bold, large-scale industrial plans to vault the United States further into the lead on critical manufacturing processes and technologies that are essential to national security, economic prosperity, and scientific leadership. These plans include artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and infrastructure that powers them, including high‑voltage transmission lines and other equipment. It will be a priority of my Administration to facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout of this infrastructure by easing Federal regulatory burdens.

In addition, my Administration will utilize federally owned land and resources for the expeditious and orderly development of data centers. This usage will be done in a manner consistent with the land’s intended purpose — to be used in service of the prosperity and security of the American people.

Sec. 2. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

(a) “Data Center Project” means a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation, or synthetic data generation.

(b) “Covered Components” means materials, products, and infrastructure that are required to build Data Center Projects or otherwise upon which Data Center Projects depend, including:

(i) energy infrastructure, such as transmission lines, natural gas pipelines or laterals, substations, switchyards, transformers, switchgear, and system protective facilities;

(ii) natural gas turbines, coal power equipment, nuclear power equipment, geothermal power equipment, and any other dispatchable baseload energy sources, including electrical infrastructure (including backup power supply) constructed or otherwise used principally to serve a Data Center Project;

(iii) semiconductors and semiconductor materials, such as wafers, dies, and packaged integrated circuits;

(iv) networking equipment, such as switches and routers; and

(v) data storage, such as hardware storage systems, software for data management and protection, and integrated services that work with public cloud providers.

(c) “Covered Component Project” means infrastructure comprising Covered Components, or a facility with the primary purposes of manufacturing or otherwise producing Covered Components.

(d) “Qualifying Project” means:

(i) a Data Center Project or Covered Component Project for which the Project Sponsor has committed at least $500 million in capital expenditures as determined by the Secretary of Commerce;

(ii) a Data Center Project or Covered Component Project involving an incremental electric load addition of greater than 100 MW;

(iii) a Data Center Project or Covered Component Project that protects national security; or

(iv) a Data Center Project or Covered Component Project that has otherwise been designated by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of Energy as a “Qualifying Project”.

(e) “Project Sponsor” means the lead sponsor providing financial and other support for a Data Center Project or Covered Component Project, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of Energy, as appropriate.

(f) “Superfund Site” means any site where action is being taken pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606, or 9620.

(g) “Brownfield Site” means a site as defined in 42 U.S.C. 9601(39).

Sec.  3. Encouraging Qualifying Projects. The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and other relevant executive departments and agencies (agencies), shall launch an initiative to provide financial support for Qualifying Projects, which could include loans and loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives, and offtake agreements. All relevant agencies shall identify and submit to the Director of OSTP any such relevant existing financial support that can be used to assist Qualifying Projects, consistent with the protection of national security.

Sec. 4. Revocation of Executive Order 14141. Executive Order 14141 of January 14, 2025 (Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure), is hereby revoked.

Sec.  5. Efficient Environmental Reviews. (a) Within 10 days of the date of this order, each relevant agency shall identify to the Council on Environmental Quality any categorical exclusions already established or adopted by such agency pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), reliance on and adoption of which by agencies (pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4336 and 4336c) could facilitate the construction of Qualifying Projects.

(b) The Council on Environmental Quality shall coordinate with relevant agencies on the establishment of new categorical exclusions to cover actions related to Qualifying Projects that normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment. Agencies shall, for purposes of establishing these categorical exclusions, rely on any sufficient basis to do so as each such agency determines.

(c) Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 4336e(10)(B)(iii), loans, loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives, or other forms of Federal financial assistance for which an agency lacks substantial project-specific control and responsibility over the subsequent use of such financial assistance shall not be considered a “major Federal action” under NEPA. For purposes of this order, Federal financial assistance representing less than 50 percent of total project costs shall be presumed not to constitute substantial Federal control and responsibility.

Sec.  6. Efficiency and Transparency Through FAST‑41. (a) The Executive Director (Executive Director) of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) may, within 30  days of the date that a project is identified to FPISC by a relevant agency, designate a Qualifying Project as a transparency project pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(b)(2)(A)(iii) and section 41003 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (Public Law 114-94, 129 Stat. 1312, 1747) (FAST-41). Within 30 days of receiving such agency notification, the Executive Director may publish Qualifying Projects on the Permitting Dashboard established under section 41003(b) of FAST-41, including schedules for expedited review.

(b) In consultation with Project Sponsors, the Executive Director shall expedite the transition of eligible Qualifying Projects from transparency projects to FAST-41 “covered projects” as defined by 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A). To the extent that a Qualifying Project does not meet the criteria set forth in 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)(i) or (iii), FPISC may consider all other available options to designate the project a covered project under 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)(iv).

Sec. 7. Streamlining of Permitting Review. (a) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall assist in expediting permitting on Federal and non-Federal lands by developing or modifying regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and other relevant applicable laws, in each case, that impact the development of Qualifying Projects.

(b) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency’s statutory authorities, expeditiously identify Brownfield Sites and Superfund Sites for use by Qualifying Projects. As part of this effort, within 180 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall develop guidance to help expedite environmental reviews for qualified reuse and assist State governments and private parties to return such Brownfield Sites and Superfund Sites to productive use as expeditiously as possible.

Sec.  8. Biological and Water Permitting Efficiencies. (a) Upon identification of sites by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy as described in section 9 of this order, the action agency, as identified through the process described in the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544) (ESA), shall initiate consultation under section 7 of the ESA with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, or both with respect to common construction activities for Qualifying Projects that will occur over the next 10 years at a programmatic level. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall utilize programmatic consultation to ensure timely and efficient completion of such consultation.

(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, shall review the nationwide permits issued under section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1344) and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) to determine whether an activity-specific nationwide permit is needed to facilitate the efficient permitting of activities related to Qualifying Projects.

Sec. 9. Federal Lands Availability. (a) The Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy shall, after consultation with industry and further in consultation with the Department of Commerce as to the Project Sponsors to which relevant authorizations shall be granted, offer appropriate authorizations for sites identified by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Energy, as applicable and appropriate for the relevant uses, consistent with 42 U.S.C. 2201, 42 U.S.C. 7256, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., and all other applicable law.

(b) The Secretary of Defense shall, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2667 or other applicable law and as and when the Secretary of Defense deems it necessary or desirable, identify suitable sites on military installations for Covered Component infrastructure uses and competitively lease available lands for Qualifying Projects to support the Department of Defense’s energy, workforce, and mission needs, subject to security and force protection considerations.

Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Energy.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

July 23, 2025.

[shaberon]

"Rule by Executive Order" is certainly not the intent of the Constitution.

This is a huge problem that needs to be sanitized decades ago. Speaking of which:

Posted by Raskolnikov (here)
We will pursue bold, large-scale industrial plans to vault the United States further into the lead on critical manufacturing processes and technologies that are essential to national security, economic prosperity, and scientific leadership. These plans include artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and infrastructure that powers them, including high‑voltage transmission lines and other equipment. It will be a priority of my Administration to facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout of this infrastructure by easing Federal regulatory burdens.

No, the United States is about twenty years behind developed countries. For example, China's AI -- as technology not necessarily pinned to 100 MW consumption -- is applied, particularly in robotics, it has a use, a purpose. The one here is just a money hole. That's how we pretend to fix things right?

Second of all, "regulatory burdens" are the only thing that protects the populace and environment from someone doing whatever they want.


This only makes it worse:

In addition, my Administration will utilize federally owned land and resources for the expeditious and orderly development of data centers. This usage will be done in a manner consistent with the land’s intended purpose — to be used in service of the prosperity and security of the American people.

If "American people" means uber-wealthy transhumanists and their Saudi and other clones, yes, it serves them, because they will make a profit and stick the losses to the public, starting from the tax-free swindle.

The point of invoking national security over every tiny little detail is ludicrous, an extraction of paranoia that is mostly self-caused. These people have no clue what "security" is, since "use of force" is basically the opposite.

As much as I hate hearing what they say, these are the actual documents that chart the course of events. Almost every single one of them is based on one or more ideas that are insane. Hence, "Epstein class", to lose a good deal of its power in the near future.

[sdv]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=XuoqKYxDHVc

It may be worth watching the above interview with all your critical faculties switched on to understand what the billionaire class have planned for AI. The utopian vision is that there will be abundance for all because AI and robotics will to all the work, everything will be perfect, and no one will have to work.

The US wants to dominate in this new AI world of robots, but Musk admits that China is actually ahead of the US in developing AI and robots. Hence the reckless urgency in the US? Does this mean war with China in the future?

But, like the Israelis, the billionaire and political elite are selective in who they classify as human. Most of humanity will be surplus. Musk and his ilk see future humanity as white, definitely not Muslim etc. As always in tribal societies, there are always exceptions allowed. So, in the US, if you are not white, you are tolerated if you accept and abide by 'American values'. (By the way, China and many other countries have strict immigration policies that are not informed by racial or religious prejudices but they avoid upsetting the balance in the country, mostly economic and social stability. It is the actions of the Trump government, with ICE and detention centres, that are abhorrent and reminiscent of the Idi Amin period in Uganda.)

Question: If you won't need money and everyone will have abundance, why are the Trump family and others grabbing as much as they can? And why are undesirables to the elite being arrested, killed and deported if there is going to be abundance for all?

Another question: If people like Trump and Musk are leading 'the world' in this transformation, what kind of world do they want to inflict on us? Neither man appreciates or has space in his life for most of the things that I value about humanity and its creativity and abundance of diversity. They seem to define humanity and what people want in terms of their family and circle of friends. Eek!

I agree with Bill ... the myths will explode or implode. Of course new technology changes the world, as we have seen in history (change in good and bad ways, but humanity muddies along anyway). Printed books, motorized vehicles, mass public transport, factory produced food, cinema and TV, the Internet ...

[shaberon]

Posted by sdv (here)
It may be worth watching the above interview with all your critical faculties switched on to understand what the billionaire class have planned for AI. The utopian vision is that there will be abundance for all because AI and robotics will to all the work, everything will be perfect, and no one will have to work.

The US wants to dominate in this new AI world of robots, but Musk admits that China is actually ahead of the US in developing AI and robots.

Can't. I don't like seeing their pictures at all.

That idea is about as old as steam power. It's pretty specifically the heart of Fascism.

At a certain level, it has potential, e. g. Russia's driverless grain combines.

The American version is purely objectionable; wtf does a data center have to do with robotic tasks? Why does it have to dominate the world? What kind of an ideal is "not working"?

It is, at the moment, a way for the 1% to keep making money and not working, but that's all they know how to do, throw money at what they think you will like so theirs magnifies exponentially.

Moreover, the difficulty in our system is this class sweeps laws away so everything favors them. It's this class, that is, these particular people, that must be trod under foot, rather than technological development per se.