BY GIANCARLOS ASENCIO
Protesters rallied on Tuesday outside Amazon’s midtown offices against the company’s plan to expand fossil-fueled AI data centers nationwide. Third Act, a nonprofit group that mobilizes Americans over 60 to protect democracy and fight climate change, organized the event. Third Act and its partner groups are concerned about expanding data centers that could affect everyone’s lives. As AI grows, serious concerns remain about its environmental consequences.
Amazon plans to expand and build more AI data centers to meet demand. The company already has centers in Virginia, Ohio, and Oregon, with more expanding in Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and more. These data centers require massive amounts of electricity to run; therefore, they will use a lot of natural gas.
Data Centers accounted for 415 terawatt-hours of electricity use in 2024 and can potentially double to 950 terawatt-hours by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. More electricity requires more natural gas, which increases fossil fuel emissions and other resource use.
“Selling their services to find oil faster, recover more oil, and reduce the cost per barrel…This is sabotaging the economics of a just energy transition… Without these tools, renewables would be winning, and fossil fuels would be struggling to survive; right now, they’re thriving,” said Holly Alpine, a former tech worker from Microsoft.
Given Amazon’s influence and power over public policy, its decision to expand its AI data centers may inspire other corporations. Beyond that, this expansion can also affect local communities near these data centers by changing how safe their environment is.
Alan Palm, the executive director at the Better Future Project, an organization that drives climate change action and goes against the fossil fuel industry, believes “they have gas-powered turbines that put toxic pollution into the air and cause respiratory illnesses for people, and they’re also noisy and cause other things that really degrade people’s quality of life – in addition to their impacts on water availability and electricity prices.”
The expansion of these data centers hasn’t been well received by climate change activists and the general public because of their potential harm. However, these centers could pose fewer risks under certain circumstances. “If you want to build data centers, they should be built in places where the community benefits. They should be powered with renewable energy, so that they don’t contribute to air pollution,” said Palm.
As Amazon moves forward with its AI ambitions, environmental advocates continue to question what those plans could mean for communities and the climate.