Civilians Would Rather Have Nuclear Power Plants Than AI Data Centres In Their Neighbourhood: Survey

A Gallup survey released May 13 revealed that 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their local area, primarily due to environmental concerns. This opposition exceeds the historic high of 63% recorded for nuclear power plants, with 46% of respondents expressing significant worry about AI data centers' environmental impact. The survey underscores growing concerns over AI data centers' massive water and electricity consumption. Cooling systems in these facilities can use millions of liters of water annually, raising sustainability issues, especially in water-stressed regions. A recent study, yet to be peer-reviewed, found AI data centers create 'data heat island effects,' increasing land surface temperatures by an average of 2 degrees Celsius, with extreme cases reaching 9 degrees. This warming affects areas up to 9.9 km (6.2 miles) away, impacting over 340 million people. Researchers at the University of California estimate that generating a 100-word AI prompt consumes roughly one bottle of water (519 milliliters). The Environmental and Energy Study Institute previously noted that medium-sized data centers can use up to 110 million gallons of water yearly for cooling, equivalent to the annual usage of about 1,000 households. The findings highlight a broader public resistance to AI infrastructure, driven by its substantial resource demands and localized environmental consequences.