Rare is the political wave that will bring together Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders and Florida Republican Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has pushed to limit Florida data center construction and sided with Floridians blaming them for higher electric bills. Sanders would go further and wants a national data center construction moratorium, claiming that data centers will not just jack up power bills, but swallow up Lake Michigan.
It seems like most Americans are inclined to believe him. Over the last year, resistance to data centers has exploded. Recent polling indicates that only 44 percent of Americans would welcome a data center near them, and only 17 percent believe artificial intelligence will have a positive impact over the next two decades. In the fall, an Indianapolis city council meeting to discuss a proposed data center drew two overflow rooms of angry citizens, and the opposition was so intense that Google withdrew its rezoning request for a 468-acre data center just minutes before a vote.
