DALLAS — Environmental campaigner Erin Brockovich is taking on the technology industry by asking everyday citizens to map the real-world impact of massive data centers.
Brockovich launched a crowd-sourced online registry called brockovichdatacenter.com to help Americans log complaints about nearby facility developments. The site saw so much traffic right after launch that high visitor volume crashed the server twice in 32 hours.
The initiative aims to gather raw, ground-level information directly from families living next to these fast-growing developments.
“This is a place where people who I believe are living, breathing, and experiencing these issues are the best source of information,” Brockovich said.
Brockovich revealed that her effort started after she woke up to dozens of emails from stressed homeowners. More than 8,200 people have submitted reports about facility developments in their neighborhoods so far.
Concerns over local resources run high among participants. Water safety leads the list, with 41% of respondents voicing fear over how these massive facilities affect their water supply. Neighbors also reported worries about local power grid strains, personal health risks, and harm to local wildlife.
A common complaint among residents is the total lack of warning from local government officials. Many homeowners report waking up to heavy construction equipment without any prior town hall discussions or public notices.
Brockovich pointed to local politicians using legal tools to conceal project details from the public before ground breaks.
“There’s a lot of secrecy and NDAs at a very proposal stage,” Brockovich said.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cloud computing has triggered a massive building boom for power-hungry data centers across North America. As tech giants scramble for land and power, local pushback is growing into a national movement.
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