Wired Word Lesson of the Week

The Wired Word

Topic for Sunday, August 30, 2026:

People Weigh Pros, Cons of Data Centers: Since data centers are in the news, this week we will consider a story about setting priorities, making courageous and wise choices, and acquiring and managing resources with equity and care.

In the News

Individuals are encouraged to read the news below related to this topic before the August 30th bible study to be prepared for an engaging conversation:

Last spring, farmer Ida Huddleston received an offer of about $60,000 per acre (over $4 million) for her 71-acre spread outside Maysville, Kentucky, where she has lived for nearly seven decades. Her daughter, Delsia Bare, 54, initially agreed to sell her own 463 acres for $48,000 an acre (over $22 million), before getting cold feet and pulling out of the contract.

Members of the extended Huddleston family own approximately 1,200 acres altogether. The unnamed company hoping to purchase about half of their property to build a data center were prepared to pay much more than the going rate of $6,000-an-acre for farmland in Mason County. 

"Money couldn't move what all I've got put in place here," said Huddleston, 82. She didn't need the money, but she felt sorry for neighbors whose circumstances might lead them to different decisions.

"I live in Ohio, not far from Maysville," wrote TWW Team Member Mary Sells. "There are many farms in the area that used to grow tobacco and transitioned to growing food crops over the decades. Governments and big tech companies offer many tantalizing benefits to encourage property owners to sell their land to companies to build data centers: tax abatement, secret deals under non-disclosure agreements, free utilities (paid for by area homeowners instead of the data companies), etc."

Farming has never been easy, Sells says, but with the loss of income from exports such as soybeans due to recent tariffs, and the next generation leaving the homestead to pursue other types of work because they see no future in agriculture, selling off land that has been in the family for generations may seem like the only option available.

At first, Bare felt pressure to sell, thinking that she might be forced into a less favorable contract if the land was taken under eminent domain. Ultimately, Bare's attachment to her property led to her withdrawal from the sale. "I never wanted to leave my land," she said.

The local planning commission has approved the rezoning of more than 2,000 acres of agricultural land, from almost 28 tracts, for the construction of a data center right next to the Huddleston farm. County officials believe the project will boost employment and economic growth. But the two women are skeptical. They're worried the water shortages and groundwater contamination occurring near data centers elsewhere will happen in their community, too.

"You can't get food out of a data center, and everything coming out of the data center is going to be poison and destructive," Huddleston said.

Opposition to the explosive growth of data center projects, due to what some are calling an "AI (artificial intelligence) gold rush," is evident in angry town hall meetings throughout the country, as citizens seek to understand the potential benefits and harms of the industry. According to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll, only a third of Americans approve of the rapid acceleration of data-center construction in the United States, while only 14% would welcome the building of a data center in their own community.

Critics of data centers cite concerns about diversion, depletion and pollution of water resources (of particular concern in regions already struggling with rising temperatures); air pollution; damage to the environment and harm to wildlife; negative impacts on public health and quality of life; 24/7 noise pollution and heat generation; aging and strained power infrastructure incapable of providing the round-the-clock energy needs of the industry; higher utility bills for consumers; loss of long-term, well-paid jobs from disappearing businesses as land is repurposed from food production to industries requiring fewer employees; lower property values; lack of transparency and accountability from government and business leaders, combined with worry that the voices of local residents may be unheard, ignored, and dismissed.

As one unnamed person protesting a proposed data center in Archbald, Pennsylvania, put it, "We are essentially being asked to give up all of the land, the energy and water, so that developers can come in here and exploit us and then send their profits someplace else."

Joseph Bowring, president of Monitoring Analytics (MA), an independent market monitor for grid operator PJM, which serves 67 million people in 13 Eastern and Midwestern states, said that data centers should pay for the costs of their own power infrastructure development and usage and not impose those expenses on other customers.

The Data Center Coalition and other lobbyists for data centers argue that the industry sparks economic development, new construction jobs and higher property and sales tax revenue to benefit local communities. Opponents say most new positions end after the initial construction, while few permanent employees are typically required to operate data centers.

But the reality is that data centers increasingly serve as "the backbone of the modern digital economy," supporting systems we use daily to travel; provide health care; ensure food safety and national security; conduct business; communicate; make connections and plans; exchange currency; access information, education and entertainment; create art; engage in commerce; protect and preserve data; take inventory; keep supply chains running efficiently, and more. The challenge we face is how to keep the benefits data centers provide while minimizing the negative outcomes associated with this new technology.

More on this story can be found at these links:

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