data centers Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

The Data Center Showdown in Lackawanna County

May 28, 2026/4 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Energy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, KEEP Our Counties Great, Money and Investments, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Technology, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom explodes with a race for ever more powerful models, so does the need for its infrastructure. This takes the form of huge, windowless buildings housing thousands of data servers. Projects may involve numerous buildings—sometimes a dozen or more—with added infrastructure such as hundreds of backup generators. These amalgamations are termed data centers or, in some cases as an indication of their enormity,

Nuclear Safety Now Optional Under Trump

April 2, 2026/4 Comments/in Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Governance, Kirsten Stade, Limits to Growth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

At the beginning of his second term, President Trump pledged a regime of aggressive deregulation to stimulate economic growth. Unfortunately he has followed through on that promise, claiming 646 deregulatory actions over the past year. These have aided industries ranging from slaughterhouses to automakers no longer bound by emissions standards under the Obama-era Endangerment Finding, which has now been reversed.

The energy sector has been among the foremost beneficiaries.

Albemarle County, Virginia: Green Leader No More

March 26, 2026/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Tom Olivier

I’ve lived in Albemarle County, Virginia, for over forty years. Albemarle is a mostly rural county in the Piedmont region. It surrounds the city of Charlottesville.

For decades, the county valued its open spaces and created many policies to ensure their protection. Recently, leadership has taken a pro-development turn, jeopardizing citizens’ quality of life and many of our community’s natural features.

In the 1990s and 2000s,

Tucker County: “Yellowstone of the East” or Appalachia’s “Cancer Valley”?

August 21, 2025/11 Comments/in Biodiversity, Conservation, Corruption, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

In Tucker County, West Virginia, two towns with populations of about 600 each are nestled next to the largest high-elevation wetland valley east of the Mississippi. After a long history of coal mining and logging, these tiny mountain towns found a way to reinvent themselves by creating a thriving arts district and promoting the stunning local natural landscape.

Now, the area is at risk of backtracking into heavy pollution,

Technocene Ground Zero: Counties Face Off with Data Centers

July 24, 2025/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Limits to Growth, Materials use, Steady State Herald, Technology, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

In counties across the U.S.—rural and urban, democrat and republican—communities are living up close and personal with data centers. And the new neighbor is a real nightmare.

The number of data centers in the U.S., whether planned, under construction, or operating, is 3,897. This is by far the most anywhere in the world, and the number is increasing weekly.

We are hitting our heads on the ceiling of limits to growth.

Tag Archive for: data centers

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by Dave Rollo

by Kirsten Stade

by Tom Olivier

by Amelia Jaycen

by Amelia Jaycen