02/21/2026
Have a read…this will devastate our resources wherever you live…
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DjpD9LfWV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
As Artificial Intelligence continues to grow and permeate our lives, something else is growing in my mind: Concern around what this means for us in the Ozarks. In my opinion, we do not want AI data centers here as they currently operate — or at least not without a lot more information.
I realize this sounds like an “not in my backyard” situation, which I suppose it is. Not that I wish these on anyone’s backyard. But the core point I want to make is that we need to be thinking about this now, and we need to have an understanding and voice about what this would mean for our world.
Before I say why, I’ll give all the disclaimers: I’m not an expert on this topic. The technology is evolving very fast, and not all of the facts about these centers are yet known. AI in general concerns me for a lot of reasons – although I do utilize it in limited ways. And yes, a devil’s advocate could say that other modern services and conveniences use electricity and hurt our environment, but this feels in a category all its own.
So, why the opposition? And what is a data center?
As AI grows, it requires higher and higher levels of energy and resources to power what it’s creating, whether that’s funny pictures or complex computer programs. To keep up, companies are building sprawling data centers to power AI. And those centers require a lot of resources to operate.
To put it in perspective, “According to the International Energy Agency, a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households,” notes a story from CBS News. “A report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute found large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day.”
When data center leaders approach the Ozarks (not if, because it’s already happened – Joplin just annexed and rezoned land for a potential data center) it will be very hard to say no.
Why? Follow the money: According to the New York Times, “Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI plan to spend more than $325 billion combined on giant data centers (in 2025). That is $100 billion more than the annual budget of Belgium.”
I’m sure the incentives these companies offer will be made to sound great. Huge amounts of cash, or jobs, or promises of being part of the future. But those values will be short-lived benefits compared to potentially damaging our beautiful Ozarks and our natural resources, which are easy to take for granted until they’re gone.
We don’t know what the ultimate costs — to health, land, water, and more — would be for us.
Nor do they. But do they care? We don’t know.
But we do care. And we are the ones who will bear the cost, whatever it may be.
