Washington – Today the national environmental organization Food & Water Watch adopted a policy position calling for a full national moratorium on the approval and construction of new large-scale data centers, which are being driven by the rapid and unregulated expansion of AI and crypto. The demand comes as alarming new facts continuously emerge pointing to the immense and unsustainable consumption of water and energy resources required to operate these facilities. An ever-growing number of communities throughout the country are increasingly resisting a litany of proposals for new data centers, based on their known threats to water security, consumer utility costs, and the numerous hazards of expanded fossil fuel development. 

“At a time when millions of Americans throughout the country are already struggling with simultaneous challenges of deepening water scarcity and soaring utility costs, the sudden and unfettered emergence of the Big Data industry represents an existential threat for scores of communities ill-equipped to handle the massive burden these huge data centers levy on precious water and power resources, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “The only prudent action is to halt the ballooning expansion of this dangerous industry in order to properly examine all manner of potential harm before it’s too late.”

Food & Water Watch is likely the first national organization in the country to publicly call for a full national moratorium on new data center approval and construction.

Already, energy demand from data centers in the U.S. is expected to increase up to threefold between 2023 and 2028. And recent analysis from Food & Water Watch found that by 2028, AI-supporting data centers could consume:

• 720 billion gallons of water annually simply to cool the facilities — equal to more than 1 million Olympic-size swimming pools, or enough water to meet the indoor needs of 18.5 million American households.
• 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually — enough electricity to power over 28 million American households.

Meanwhile, this summer the Trump administration released an “AI Action Plan,” which outlines its priorities related to the advancement of so-called “artificial intelligence” and the industries supporting it – including massive energy- and water-intensive data centers. Among other things, Trump’s plan seeks to dismantle existing environmental and land use rules that it views as a hindrance to the unfettered growth of these industries.