Erin Brockovich Launches Nationwide Project on Data Center Impact

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has initiated a national project focusing on community concerns related to data centers. Sparked by numerous emails from Louisiana residents, the initiative addresses a topic that many Americans seem to learn about only after such centers are underway. The growing conversation revolves around the expansion of AI-powered data centers, which heavily consume electricity and water for server cooling. Brockovich, a leading voice in this debate, has gathered extensive input from communities claiming insufficient prior information about local data center plans.

Amid the rapid construction of AI infrastructure, towns are encountering tensions over water use, energy consumption, noise, and transparency. In an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, This Past Weekend, Brockovich discussed her broadening efforts to map these developments. Initially prompted by 30 emails from one community, her research revealed a national issue.

Brockovich said, “I woke up one morning and I had 30 emails … from the same community regarding the same issues—data centers.”

To gather and display community reports, she created BrockovichDataCenter.com. The website enables residents to report data centers that are operational, proposed, or under-construction. The platform’s significant activity soon showed that concerns were widespread across the U.S.

Brockovich shared, “When I put this map out, in the first 72 hours, the map crashed twice, and I woke up on day three going, oh my God, it’s not one town and one aquifer and one data center, it’s the entire country.”

Since its launch, the project has mapped over 8,000 locations showing various stages of data center projects. It highlights prevalent worries such as water use, energy demands, electronic waste, and community planning. Many residents reportedly only learn about these projects after they are already underway.

During the podcast, Brockovich mentioned confidentiality agreements as a factor limiting public awareness. While the economic benefits of data centers, like construction spending and tax revenue, are often cited, Brockovich advocates for more transparency about potential local impacts. Her map aims to make communities more informed about the swift development of AI infrastructure.

About Erin Brockovich

Brockovich gained fame for her role in a case against Pacific Gas & Electric regarding groundwater contamination in California. Known as an environmental advocate, her focus has shifted to data centers amid the U.S.’s increasing pace of AI infrastructure development.

The film “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts, dramatizes Brockovich’s real-life legal efforts against PG&E over pollution in Hinkley, California. The legal case involving chromium-6 contamination led to a $333 million settlement, a record at the time for a direct-action lawsuit.

Newsweek editors Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas contributed to this story.