Data center moratorium now

The environmental problems of big data centers

Data centers—large warehouses full of computer servers—are cropping up at record speeds across the country. 

There are already more than 3,000 data centers in operation in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from Data Center Map. More than 1,500 more are currently in various stages of development, driven in large part by a surge in demand for computing capacity to power artificial intelligence (AI). These data centers range across all 50 states. 

There are hundreds of data centers in the works that are classified as “hyperscale,” meaning they are particularly large and energy-intensive.

On average, data centers are as large as hundreds of football fields, and the biggest ones can be even larger. They’re packed from floor to ceiling with computer servers that run hot enough to require massive fans and other cooling equipment to keep them operating efficiently. All that machinery can use enormous amounts of energy, guzzle up water and generate as much noise as an electric chainsaw — and it all runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. 

AI holds both promise and perils, but one thing is certain: To realize the potential of AI in a sustainable way, we need to slow down, think deliberately about our actual needs, and consider how to get data centers right.

Big data, big problems

The massive expansion of data centers currently underway in the U.S. is creating serious environmental problems, especially in five main areas:

1: Data centers consume massive amounts of energy 

Just one “hyperscale” data center can use as much power as a small city of 100,000 households, and the largest ones can use up to 20 times more. New electricity capacity for all of the proposed data centers could total 194 gigawatts in the next seven years. That’s enough to power every single household in the country.

Electric utilities are rushing to build the infrastructure to meet all of this demand. But their proposals and projects are often dirty, dangerous or both. Proposals include reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which suffered a partial meltdown in 1979; building completely new gas plants which, if built, have the potential to boost U.S. power emissions by a staggering 20%; and extending the life of dirty fossil fuel power plants in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois and elsewhere across the country. Some of these plants are among the nation’s largest sources of climate pollution. In fact, together, 15 power plants that have had their lifetimes extended to cover data center energy demand produced 65 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in one year—more than all of Massachusetts in 2022.

Data released in September 2026 by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that proposals for grid-connected natural gas power plants have nearly tripled since early 2023 and increased by nearly half in the last eight months alone, driven largely by rising power demand for data centers.

In addition, because data centers require constant electricity to ensure non-stop operations, many of them are being built with on-site diesel generators to provide back-up power. Diesel pollutes during every step of its lifecycle, from drilling to transportation and refinement. Its exhaust has also been linked to potentially fatal respiratory health problems and is classified as a probable carcinogen to people by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Ramping up our fossil fuel power generation is a big step in the wrong direction. We need to be shifting our country onto cleaner, safer sources of power, not expanding the most polluting forms of energy.

2. Data centers consume lots of water

Groundwater is being depleted across the country. In fact, as of September 2026, 43 states were experiencing at least moderate drought. We need to be doing all we can to conserve water and make sure we have enough to sustain our lives far into the future. 

The rapid build-out of data centers could make America’s water challenges even worse.

One large data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of water a day. That’s as much water as a small city of 50,000 people. Worse, many of these data centers are being proposed in parts of the country that are already facing significant droughts, including at least 248 new data centers in Texas and 86 Arizona. In California, one hyperscale data center recently filed a lawsuit for access to up to 287 million gallons of water per year from the already-depleted Colorado River. 

3. Data centers create noise pollution and worsen heat islands

From the humming and whirring of cooling systems to the rumbling and rattling of diesel generators, data centers make enough constant noise to harm both humans and wildlife.

Animals use sound to navigate, find food, attract mates and avoid predators. Noise pollution makes it difficult for them to accomplish these tasks, which affects their ability to survive. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence links noise to various health effects in people, including hypertension, heart disease, sleep disturbance, and disrupting learning. Residents living near loud data centers have reported a variety of other ailments, too, from ear pain and migraines to vertigo and nausea. 

The reason these noisy cooling systems exist in the first place is because data centers generate huge amounts of heat. But while the cooling systems keep the data centers themselves cool, all that heat has to go somewhere, so it ends up getting dispersed into the surrounding area. In fact, data centers are creating “heat islands” by increasing ground temperatures by up to 16 degrees and air temperatures by up to 4 degrees. These effects have been observed as far away as half a kilometer, over three city blocks.

That kind of temperature increase could worsen already sweltering summers and affect nearby ecosystems — all while making our homes and open spaces less comfortable.

4. More data centers means more resource extraction and electronic waste

A massive surge in new data centers will require millions of new computer chips. And, because those chips degrade with constant use or get outperformed by newer models, they need to be replaced regularly. 

Advanced computer chips require a wide range of minerals to produce, including silicon, boron, copper and rarer elements. Mining for these minerals means digging or dredging up sand around the world, extracting and refining in energy-intensive ways, and producing significant greenhouse gas emissions in the process. As resources become more scarce and demand continues to rise, this mining could take place in more and more invasive places, including our oceans. 

And once those chips are used up, they often become toxic electronic waste, one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world. One study predicted that global e-waste generation would triple by 2050, in part fueled by the AI data center boom. 

5. Data centers can use a lot of land

Data centers can have massive physical footprints, with some facilities covering hundreds of acres. Because many new data centers are being proposed in rural areas, new construction often means paving over farmland, forests or other natural areas that provide space for native plants or wildlife. Many data center developers propose replacing natural landscapes with impermeable concrete surfaces and industrial-scale facilities. Data centers also often require other new infrastructure, including transmission line corridors that replace even more rural American landscape and local ecosystems with heavy industry.

Slow down, do it right

We can realize the promise of AI without destroying our planet, ravaging natural areas, threatening our health and compromising our well-being in the process. But to do so, we have to slow down and develop policies and guardrails that will allow us to build the data centers we actually need, rather than the flood of data centers that market incentives and corporate shareholders want. 

Most of all, we need to do so in an environmentally sustainable and responsible way that doesn’t endanger America’s transition to renewable energy, jeopardize clean water, erode valuable open space, or recklessly charge ahead on mining and e-waste generation.

That’s why we’re calling for a two-year moratorium on the construction of new 50 megawatts or greater data centers (including compounds totaling 50+ megawatts). This pause will give towns, counties, cities and states the time they need to develop, organize and deliberate on the technology and safeguards for data centers to be built in a sustainable manner. And it will allow them time to develop plans for producing enough energy to do so without polluting the air or threatening the stability of our climate. 

Opposition to data center expansion is growing

Across the country, these environmental concerns and others are fueling a rapid rise in opposition to new data centers. Some government officials are beginning to heed these concerns. In July 2026, New York passed a statewide moratorium on data centers. In September, Texas halted permits for all new data centers until the state completes a thorough audit of their energy demand. And as of August 2026, lawmakers have filed bills in 15 states that would impose effective moratoria on large new data centers.

Just as importantly, more and more people across the country are questioning why we need all of these data centers in the first place. To realize AI’s potential, do we really need this many data centers? What does it look like to minimize the impact of these facilities? It’s vital to think seriously about what our end goal is, and how to balance the promise of AI with the potential impacts data centers can have on our environment, our health and our wellbeing.

We’re working on three fronts to hit pause on big data center expansion.

• 1. We’re calling on state officials to enact a two-year moratorium on big data center construction in the 30 states where our network environmental groups operate.
• 2. We’re working to highlight the human and environmental health impacts big data centers can have, including by releasing important research.
• 3. Community Action Works (which is, like Environment America, a member of The Public Interest Network) is giving local grassroots leaders the tools and training they need to organize their neighbors to effectively call for moratoria in their communities. 

If we trash our planet with data centers, all of the potential benefits of AI will be useless. Let’s slow down and try to get it right instead.