Bernie Sanders Takes on Data Centers | The New Yorker Radio Hour
The short version: Bernie Sanders talks moratorium politics with David Remnick, putting data centers' power bills, water use, and land grabs in front of a mainstream audience.
Our Take
When a sitting senator goes on The New Yorker Radio Hour to argue for hitting pause on the data center buildout, that's a sign this fight has left the trade press and entered the national conversation. Sanders and David Remnick get into the economics and environmental costs, and whatever you think of a federal moratorium as a policy tool, the underlying complaint tracks with what we hear from ratepayers and county boards all over the country: massive facilities get sited fast, utilities and localities socialize the costs, and the public finds out about the megawatts and the water draws after the deal is inked.
The moratorium idea will live or die in Congress, but the leverage that actually moves these projects sits closer to home — planning commissions, utility commissions, and the tax abatement votes that most residents never attend. That's the layer where a senator's floor speech turns into an actual permit denied or a rate case won.
If this segment has you wondering what's landing near you, check our facility map and see how you can push back at take-action.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The New Yorker, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.