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“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.” Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)  

Humans are the only species that fouls its own nest. We produce huge amounts of waste and dump it everywhere without regard for the impact on other creatures, the environment or even ourselves. We do this at a scale which overwhelms natural ecological systems. We create toxic substances that don't exist in nature (chemicals, plastics, nuclear waste) that are long lasting and not biodegradable. Our technologies have allowed human “progress” but at the cost of many destructive and often irreversible changes to the earth.  

Why do we do this? Is it to make our lives better, easier, more convenient or more productive? Or, as Gandhi suggested, is it to satisfy our insatiable greed?

The desire to have more drives creating stuff just because we can with no regard for if we should. Too often we don't do adequate cost-benefit analysis. We don't look before we leap.  

This has been the case with many results of “better living through chemistry,” nuclear weapons, nuclear power, bio-engineering, social media and digital technology. Now we are facing massive changes to society and the environment because of the rush to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.  

Wisconsin Green Fire is concerned about the environmental costs of the “hyperscale” data centers that AI will require. These facilities will consume huge amounts of electricity, water and produce significant amounts of toxic e-waste and noise pollution. But there will be other costs to local communities and the public Wisconsin Green Fire (wigreenfire.org) has published a free resource providing background information about data centers, their impacts on Wisconsin and a guide for citizen action (“Big Tech Unchecked – A Toolkit for Community Action,” Dec. 16, 2025).

Other environmental groups, including the Wisconsin Sierra Club, collaborated on this publication.   The guide defines hyperscale data centers and distinguishes them from existing computer server facilities that run the Internet. Our existing digital world requires collections of networked computer servers that store and process data. These can be operated by tech giants or smaller public or business organizations.

Hyperscale data centers are much larger and are being built to handle the enormous volumes of data required to run cloud computing, cryptocurrency and the rapidly increasing applications of AI technologies.  

As an example, the guide says just two of the multiple hyperscale data centers being proposed for Wisconsin will use 3.9 gigawatts of electric power. This is “far more energy than all households in Wisconsin currently use."   

Data Centers are being proposed and built all over the country. Green Fire questions why Wisconsin has been selected and provides several reasons. One is that data centers are seen as economic development and a source of new jobs. In 2023, Wisconsin's Republican controlled legislature passed a law allowing data center developers to pay no state sales tax on equipment. We know from past experience that bribing companies with tax breaks and subsidies rarely produces the promised number of jobs and often costs a lot per job created. We also know that money spent on headline grabbing “economic development” can reduce available funding for other important public services.  

Another reason is that utility companies benefit when large energy users increase overall demand. According to Wisconsin Green Fire this, “...allows the utility to generate greater profits by building new infrastructure.”

They say Wisconsin electric companies typically make a 9.8-10% return on investment. New demand can also provide and excuse to raise rates on other consumers to pay for new power plants. Green Fire predicts everyone’s energy bills will go up even though the new infrastructure serves one industry.  

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) is another organization trying to warn the public about the costs of data centers. In addition to all the environmental damage, they are also concerned about the lack of transparency and democracy in the approval process.  

Data center developers. like all sales people, want to emphasize the positive and limit discussion of the costs. MCEA is warning about nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with local officials. Companies often claim important decision making information, like the actual owners  or water and electricity consumption, are trade secrets and must be kept secret.  

Kathryn Hoffman, chief executive of the MCEA , has written, “We should not sacrifice our democratic values and our resources to the short-term demands of large companies that are not willing to talk to their neighbors or disclose the full scope of their proposals...Minnesotans value our air, water and good governance, and we do not have to participate in a race to the bottom to attract data centers, which come with big environmental impacts in exchange for relatively few long term jobs.”  

No elected official should ever sign a NDA to withhold information from their constituents. This practice should be illegal. It is certainly inconsistent with democratic governance and the transparency we should expect. In a democracy the public has a right to know. Secret, backroom deals have no place in any activity involving public money or what is being planned for our communities.  

You can learn more about proposed data centers in Minnesota and what MCEA is doing to oppose them at mncenter.org/data-centers.  

Some states have been proposing environmental and other regulations for AI and data centers. President Trump has been using executive orders to unilaterally establish national policies that promote the rapid growth of AI. He is attempting to prevent any significant regulations of the industry by states. His most recent executive order, issued on Dec. 11, 2025, directs the Department of Justice to create an "AI litigation task force" whose “sole responsibility shall be to challenge State AI laws inconsistent with” Trumps self-imposed AI policies. He also is talking about withholding federal funding from states who attempt to protect the environment and the public from the downsides of AI.  

Like many other of Trump's dictatorial actions, he has no authority to nullify state laws by executive order. Only Congress can pass laws that override state laws. His AI related executive orders are another unconstitutional attempt to increase his presidential powers.  

AI and data centers are an industry that definitely needs public oversight and sensible regulation. Wisconsin Green Fire believes, “Local engagement is one of the most powerful tools we have to ensure data center development is responsible, transparent, and protective of community needs.”