Construction of data centers has been in our local news lately, as communities struggle with the wisdom of allowing them within their boundaries.  Information from the Southern Environmental Law Center reveals that data centers are the engines that keep the internet running by processing, storing, and distributing huge amounts of data, including AI. However, they consume vast amounts of energy, water, and land.  A “hyperscale” data center can occupy the same amount of land as dozens of football fields, can use power roughly equivalent to the annual energy demand of 80,000 homes, and use more than 530 million gallons of water per year, enough to fill 804 Olympic-sized swimming pools.  They may also generate significant quantities of wastewater that can strain local sewer infrastructure, causing downstream pollution.  Large areas of pavement and built infrastructure will push more pollution from stormwater runoff into local bodies of water.  Utilities are using projected data center power to justify building new fossil fuel power plants that emit harmful air pollutants. Noise pollution from constant humming of fans used to cool the servers is also a concern.  The public is not often given enough information on the full costs and resource needs of these data centers.  More transparency is needed in order for communities to make informed decisions about them.