Data centers have become an electoral issue for the midterms, even in a red state like Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a construction moratorium. It\u2019s probably the only thing he has in common with ultra-liberal Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York: a willingness to hit the pause button on data centers.<\/p>\n
FROM NEW YORK TO TEXAS, STATES SHOULD RESPECT LOCAL CONTROL ON DATA CENTERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n This backlash comes despite the fact that every policymaker knows that data centers are needed to power our future economy, from AI<\/a> to the internet of things and the cloud, and the only real beneficiary of a moratorium will be China. Still, the public remains unconvinced, especially when it faces a zoning proposal to build a data center half a mile from its backyard.<\/p>\n Protesters react as the Box Elder County Commission approves a large AI data center project in Tremonton, Utah, May 4, 2026. Activists opposed the proposed 40,000-acre development over concerns about water use, energy demand and environmental impact. (Natalie Behring\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n This all sounds discouraging, but we\u2019ve been here before. Just a decade ago, the advent of large-scale fracking, or horizontal drilling, for oil and gas faced a similar frenzy of opposition. If today\u2019s anti-data center forces have strong support from communist China (which has been linked to more than 200 accounts on X, promoting data center misinformation) then it was Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s Russian media that amplified the anti-fracking movement here and in Europe.<\/p>\n FOX NEWS POLL: COOL YOUR SERVERS! VOTERS REJECT DATA CENTERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n It got so bad that fracking became a flashpoint in the culture wars, with left-wing celebrities like Jane Fonda, Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo organizing protests and blockades, resulting in bans on fracking in several states.<\/p>\n Yet, in the end, the fearmongers lost, and the energy companies won, as did America\u2019s strategic and economic interests. Today, thanks to fracking, America is the world\u2019s No. 1 oil and gas producer. That\u2019s why hostilities with Iran haven\u2019t caused a panic at the pump. A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says without America\u2019s current oil and gas independence, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz would have cut the U.S. employment rate by nearly 2%.<\/p>\n How the energy companies turned the public around on fracking offers powerful lessons for today\u2019s AI executives and power companies on data centers.<\/p>\n KEVIN O’LEARY WARNS CHINA IS WINNING THE AI RACE BECAUSE U.S. STATES ARE SLOWING DATA CENTER PRODUCTION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n First, fracking companies understood that all politics with environmental issues like this is local. This isn\u2019t a war you can macro-manage from the boardroom or Washington. Instead, it\u2019s a series of wars that have to be fought state by state, district by district, even neighborhood by neighborhood.<\/p>\n This means partnering with local businesses and local governments to talk about how building a new data center expands jobs and opportunities for everyone, not just AI or tech companies. It also means seeking out places that will welcome a new data center<\/a> for the same reasons, and using them as examples of how data centers can coexist with traditional communities and values.<\/p>\n CHINESE BOT FARM CAUGHT RED-HANDED TRYING TO INFLUENCE HEATED AI DATA CENTER DEBATE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Second, it means partnering with responsible environmental and citizen associations to emphasize how data center builders will be staying within agreed-upon safety and cost guidelines, such as President Donald Trump\u2019s insistence that they come with their own power supply<\/a> so as not to raise electricity rates. This partnership can work to dispel the myths being spread by the opposition.<\/p>\n One of those myths that nearly stopped fracking was that it polluted the water supply. Companies were able to prove that fracking didn\u2019t affect the water supply except where the water table was already low and where engineers wouldn\u2019t want to sink a well anyway.<\/p>\n \u2018BACKWARDS AND POOR\u2019: TRUMP ISSUES DIRE WARNING TO COMMUNITIES BLOCKING CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Anti-data center fanatics spread similar falsehoods about data centers using up water, when in fact your average golf course consumes more. Likewise, companies can emphasize that technical and safety improvements take place every year. The data centers built five years ago will look like technological dinosaurs compared to the ones that are coming.<\/p>\n Still, the public remains unconvinced, especially when it faces a zoning proposal to build a data center half a mile from its backyard.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Third, don\u2019t let up on the focus of what happens if we don\u2019t. Fracking executives were able to remind people of what energy dependence looked like, with long gas lines and soaring prices. We can remind average Americans of the gains China will make, and the advantages we lose, if Beijing wins the data center wars. Do you really want the country that gave us COVID-19 deciding the future of AI?<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Finally, people need to realize new data centers aren\u2019t just about growing AI. They\u2019re essential to modern life, as the number of devices we use requires more and more power. The average U.S. household uses between 17 and 21 internet-connected devices, compared to only two or three devices in 2010. All that connectivity makes increasing demands the future grid won\u2019t be able to match without new data centers.<\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788686494_858_utah-data-center-protest-box-elder-county.jpeg\")
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