Dear MEL Topic Readers, ‘Brand-new everything’: How data centers transformed this small town’s
economy
As the use of AI becomes the norm, more facilities are needed to store,
process, share, and manage data and run applications. That’s why data centers
are being built around the world. A data center facility houses networked
computer servers, data storage devices, and network equipment. They consume a massive amount of energy to run their servers and to cool them from overheating. They are operated 24/7 remotely, so they need only
a few people on site for maintenance. Therefore, data centers are built where space
and electricity are economically available, but not much of a human workforce. Local
residents fear their electricity bills will rise if a power-hungry data center
is built. Also, they worry about heat exhaustion and noise pollution from the
facility. Quinsy is a small farming town in the state of Washington with a
population of around 8,500. Microsoft, Yahoo!, Dell and others have located large data centers
since 2007, and there are around 30 of them now. What are the benefits and
problems of data centers to the residents, community, and economy?
Read the article and learn about the impacts of data centers in a small
town.
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