Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik / Staff via Getty
Artificial intelligence is evolving faster than we can keep up with, and as servers guzzle water and data centers boom to keep up with demand, there are genuine concerns about what we're doing to the planet.
The United Nations has warned that AI data centers could be pushing the human race toward a water crisis, while one Wyoming data center has been accused of infecting the town's water with deadly bacteria.
Although Reno's Citadel Campus runs entirely on renewable energy, there are further concerns as we enter the Gigawatt Era with the likes of Meta's Hyperion being Manhattan-sized and the Stargate Project pushing the boundaries of megaprojects.
There are continued calls for data centers to be restricted or outright banned, with Dublin in Ireland now demanding that all data centers include their own on-site power generation. Amsterdam has barred all new facilities and expansions within the municipality until at least 2030, while the wider Netherlands has restricted major data centers to just two locations.
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As data centers pop up like moles across the USA, New York has become the first state to slap a ban on them. Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement, confirming a one-year ban on new AI data centers that have a capacity of 50 megawatts or more.
Given that the Trump administration has gone hard on the AI push and President Donald Trump has tried to prove he's down with the kids by being tech savvy, New York's ban has ruffled the POTUS' feathers.
With Trump trying to push companies to build big in the USA, and also investing $500 billion in AI data centers, his response isn't exactly a surprise.
Taking to Truth Social, the president told Hochul to 'IMMEDIATELY' reverse the decision, claiming that the current run on data centers is a driving force for jobs in the USA: "They are big, strong, bold, and Money Machines for the State in which they are built.
If data centers are really “LIQUID GOLD,” then New Yorkers deserve more than scraps.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 15, 2026
We hit pause because the communities powering AI should share in its success.
Maybe that’s a novel concept in Washington. We call it doing our job. https://t.co/I6Fzi2xLdG
“Governor Kathy Hochul, for political reasons, has terminated all Data Centers being built, or to be built, in New York State."
Calling the decision terrible, Trump referred to data centers as 'liquid gold', adding: "All of this Income, and other Benefits, will be going to Red States, and some Blue, where Data Centers are sought as Cash Cows, with Lower Taxes and Record Setting Jobs.
“They must pay for their own Water and Power, and any leftover goes back to the State and local Community."
The Commander-in-Chief maintains that states are lucky to get data centers, concluding: "The Radical Left Dumocrats must not be allowed to cause us to lose Data Centers, AI, and all of this incredible new Technology, to China, and other countries!"
All of this comes amid fears that data centers are leading to rampant pollution, pushing up electricity prices, and consuming water at an alarming rate.
In a press release announcing the moratorium, Hochul stated: "As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead."
She ordered state utility regulators to draft "the strongest standards in the nation for data center development," hoping to guarantee that "when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too."
It seems Trump's rant has landed on Hochul's radar, with her taking to X to issue her own response. Standing defiant, the New York governor replied: "If data centers are really 'LIQUID GOLD,' then New Yorkers deserve more than scraps. We hit pause because the communities powering AI should share in its success. Maybe that’s a novel concept in Washington. We call it doing our job."
