Erin Brockovich starts tracking AI data centers, calls on affected communities to submit issues — website shows more than 2,700 reports from across the US raising various concerns

Erin Brockovich starts tracking AI data centers, calls on affected communities to submit issues — website shows more than 2,700 reports from across the US raising various concerns | Tom's Hardware

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Erin Brockovich, famed for her role in the landmark 1996 class-action lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) that resulted in a $333 million settlement, and the subsequent movie that bears her name, is on another crusade. This time, the environmental activist and consumer advocate is targeting data centers, launching the Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting website to compile complaints from affected residents and community members."The RACE to build AI infrastructures is unfolding town by town across America. In some places, data centers are welcomed. In others, they are delayed, contested or abandoned altogether,” Brockovich wrote on her website. “This MAP captures the real-world footprint of that race — revealing patterns of growth, conflict and uncertainty.” At the moment, the website lists 33 operational (built & running) AI data centers, 44 under-construction projects, and 27 proposed sites. It also shows 2,716 community-reported locations nationwide as of May 24, 2026.There are several primary concerns against data centers, the biggest of which is energy consumption, which has been causing utility prices to skyrocket across large swaths of the United States. Water usage is also another issue that communities have been raising, with these massive-scale projects using a lot of water and catching the attention of lawmakers. There are also reports of noise pollution, with some members of the public complaining about the infrasound phenomenon often brought about by large-scale industrial operations. Brockovich also lists location risks, scalability, and e-waste as potential long-term problems that the industry must deal with in the future.Latest Videos FromWhile the White House has been pushing for AI-friendly policies, the rest of the American people are increasingly growing skeptical about its development, particularly for data centers that are popping up in their backyards. It has gotten to the point that 70% of Americans oppose data center construction near their homes, a 23% increase from a survey conducted less than six months before. The pushback against these developments is gaining steam, too, with at least 69 jurisdictions passing moratoriums on data center construction to give local governments time to assess their impact.It’s unclear what Brockovich intends to do with the data she’s gathering, but this is often one of the first steps needed for lawyers to see if a class-action lawsuit has merit. While there is no case at the moment, this website puts data center developers on notice that their actions are being publicly tracked, and that Erin Brockovich has her keen eye on them.

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Jowi MoralesContributing WriterJowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

10 Comments

Comment from the forums

Luddites out in force again.

LOL, a whole article about Erin Brockovich and no Julia Roberts reference?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/ Yeah, I'm old.

Kicapan07 said:Luddites out in force again.Someone doesn't know the real story of the Luddites. Maybe look it up, so you actually know what you're talking about.

A strong woman threatening to push back against a backbone of tech. Watch the bigotry from the bros escalate.

Kicapan07 said:Luddites out in force again.What do you mean by that?

chaos215bar2 said:Someone doesn't know the real story of the Luddites. Maybe look it up, so you actually know what you're talking about.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite Unless you're saying that people advocating for fair treatment and a livable environment is a bad thing. In which case, please tell us how that boot tastes on this fine morning.From the Wikipedia article that you reference: "Despite its original meaning, the term has over time been used to refer to those who are opposed to the introduction of new technologies."

Kicapan07 said:Luddites out in force again.You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. In either case, I doubt many people is opposed to the concept of building more compute and increasing the overall capacity to expand AI. What they're opposing is unfair treatment by their politicians voted into office, the dangers of very lax regulation for the new constructions and what comes after and, very likely, poor studies to show any further impact in their living conditions and areas.

Your attitude smells a lot like "it doesn't affect me, so you can get bent instead". That way of thinking is dangerous. If it's not, I have to ask why? Why have that attitude towards someone and their actions which clearly will benefit regular people's lives in a positive way? (inb4: they want to go back to the stone age, hurr durr).

Regards.

The right thing for the wrong attention-seeking, self-serving reasons

People better wake up to the real reasons AI data centers are going up all across the country and lightning speed. Funny how all the climate change talk disappeared when it came time to build these things.

cknobman said:Funny how all the climate change talk disappeared when it came time to build these things.That's because thee big corporations behind the AI boom shifted from a standard business model to a disruptive one, where winning posed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and falling behind became an existential threat.

At that point, not only did they throw environmental sustainability goals out the window, but also financial sustainability. We've seen news of layoffs which show they're even willing to damage their core business, if they think it increases their chances of winning. It's really just a massive gamble.

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