Podcast Summary: Across the US, Activists Are Organizing to Oppose Data Centers

The Tech Policy Press Podcast
Host: Justin Hendricks
Guests:

• Steven Renderos – Executive Director, MediaJustice
• Vivek Bharthana – No Desert Data Center Coalition, upcoming MediaJustice Data Center Fellow
  Date: September 14, 2025

Overview

This episode dives into the surge of data center development across the U.S., the resulting public backlash, and how activists at both local and national levels are organizing to oppose this rapid expansion. Host Justin Hendricks speaks with two key figures: Steven Renderos, who brings a national racial-justice lens via MediaJustice, and Vivek Bharthana, who led a grassroots campaign opposing a major data center outside Tucson, AZ. The conversation covers environmental, social, economic, and democratic concerns, the political complexity of opposition, industry secrecy, the national narrative around AI and infrastructure, and emerging alternative visions for equitable economic development.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Data Center Boom & Public Backlash

• Massive investments: $6.7 trillion projected globally by 2030, over $1 trillion in the U.S. over five years ([00:30]).
• High-profile initiatives like the Stargate Project and multi-billion commitments from Big Tech highlight how central data centers are to AI and cloud ambitions.
• Communities are increasingly alarmed by resource use (water, power), environmental fallout, and secretive approval processes.

MediaJustice’s Evolving Role & Strategic Opposition

• Steven Renderos explains the organization’s shift from fighting media consolidation to tech accountability and, now, to targeting the infrastructure—especially data centers—that underpins AI ([02:10]):

  "The common through line...has been seeing the role that giant corporations are playing in really defining what media and technology does in our lives."

• Data centers became an urgent focus because of their outsized resource demands and the “bad deal” for host communities.

Tucson’s “No Desert Data Center” Victory & Ongoing Struggle

• Vivek Bharthana outlines the grassroots campaign against “Project Blue,” a planned Amazon data center on 290 desert acres ([05:03]):
  • Community first learned about the project only when a land sale was imminent.
  • Main concerns: climate-inept location (extreme heat), massive water and power use in a desert city already struggling with scarcity.
  • Board of Supervisors approved the land sale; coalition forced City Council to block water utility provision—a significant (if partial) win ([09:30]).
  • Now fighting at the state level as the utility pushes ahead without public water.

Cross-Ideological and Community Organizing

• Opposition doesn’t fall neatly along partisan lines; water and power bill increases resonate widely ([09:45]):

  "As soon as we made it clear...that power bills would go up, those were winning arguments." – Vivek ([10:44])

• The process’ secrecy (NDAs, surprise revelations about Amazon’s involvement) further unified opposition ([10:44], [18:36]).

The Southern U.S. as a “Sacrifice Zone”

• Steven details how data center and AI infrastructure concentrate in the South, echoing a history of extractive industries and environmental injustice ([13:09]):

  "The South is now becoming the next sacrifice zone and will become the heart of a lot of data center infrastructure." ([13:37])

  • Example: Memphis’s Black neighborhood, Boxtown, was targeted for a massive “Colossus” data center powered by controversial gas turbines ([14:30]).

The Secrecy Playbook of Big Tech

• Use of NDAs and closed-door deals to hinder opposition, both at the community and advocacy group level ([17:28]):

  "NDAs is very much a part of their playbook, but also I think writing the rules is very much a part of their playbook." – Steven ([19:59])

  • This opacity breeds mistrust and galvanizes community action.

Broader Community Concerns

• Beyond environmental issues, citizens express fears about jobs lost to AI, the expansion of surveillance (with Amazon/Palantir cited), and the exclusion of local Indigenous groups ([22:58], [23:36]).

  "There is that understanding among folks...I stand to lose my job because of facilities like this and because of generative AI." – Vivek ([23:40])

• Surveillance and displacement concerns unite multiracial coalitions, as data centers are grasped as nodes in a network of extractive, anti-democratic technology ([25:27]).

  "Local fights around data centers can be a way to also push back against that regression [towards authoritarianism]." – Steven ([26:28])

Educating and Equipping Activists for the Technical Fight

• Asymmetry in technical knowledge is a recurring challenge, but coalitions bridge gaps with local experts (academics, environmental orgs), investigative journalists, and national research partners like AI Now Institute ([28:00], [29:37]).
• Example: Water experts in Tucson informed the campaign ([32:54]).

  "Because water conservation is such a part of our daily lives here...it was unfathomable...the city would be prepared to give away so much..." – Vivek ([33:09])

Growing National Movement & Coordinated Resistance

• Multiple working groups and coalitions are emerging (Athena Coalition, Take Back Tech gathering) as the fight moves beyond localities to state and national levels ([34:42]):

  "...with data centers...the fight is everywhere...we do hope that more and more infrastructure comes together to help weave these fights together." – Steven ([36:00])

• The movement is intentionally decentralized to counter the centralization of Big Tech.

Challenging the National Security & Economic Narrative

• Tech industry is intentionally conflating their economic interests with national security; the “race with China” narrative is used to justify harmful trade-offs ([37:58], [38:43]):

  "There is a necessary sacrifice, and that sacrifice is a human sacrifice, that certain people are worth sacrificing for technological progress." – Steven ([39:25])

• Both guests argue communities of color and previously marginalized regions are paying the price for supposed “progress.”

Envisioning Equitable Alternatives

• Vivek calls for new, locally-rooted forms of economic development and investment—outside of Big Tech—so communities are not forced to “race to the bottom” for projects that harm them ([41:23]):

  "They also come with a lot of blood...they come with a requirement to sacrifice a lot." – Vivek ([41:56])

• Dream of locally responsive investment, where residents have material and civic stakes in the outcome ([43:44]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "AI relies upon real brick and mortar infrastructure...it's a raw deal for the communities that are building them." – Steven ([03:14])
• "We found out about it...shortly before the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to sell this parcel of land...to a corporation called Beale Infrastructure..." – Vivek ([05:16])
• "No is a complete sentence, and you can push back." – Steven ([14:51])
• "NDAs…race to the bottom…completely betrays their constituents and benefits these resource extractive corporations." – Vivek ([19:40])
• "This is the first tech issue I can really think of that's motivated people to get up and show up to a city Council meeting in the middle of the day." – Steven ([21:36])
• "It has everything. It really does." – Vivek (SNL's Stefon reference, underscoring the multi-faceted nature of opposition) ([27:48])
• "You can and should push back. You can and should say no." – Steven ([36:58])
• "The industry is coming here. We gotta prepare and we gotta make the best deal possible." – Local Official paraphrased by Steven ([15:54])
• "There is a necessary sacrifice, and that sacrifice is a human sacrifice, that certain people are worth sacrificing for technological progress." – Steven ([39:25])

Important Timestamps

• 00:30 – Framing the explosion in data center investment and national context
• 02:10 – Steven on MediaJustice’s organizing evolution
• 05:03 – Vivek on the Tucson campaign’s local genesis
• 09:45 – Why opposition doesn't break down along predictable party lines
• 13:09 – Overview of the Southern U.S. as a new “sacrifice zone”
• 17:28 – Importance and impact of NDAs and secrecy in the process
• 23:36 – How generative AI, surveillance, and labor concerns unite opposition
• 29:37 – Activist strategies for focusing and debunking technical claims
• 34:42 – Rise of national coalitions and coordination
• 37:58 – Challenging the tech-national security narrative
• 41:23 – Seeking alternative, community-based economic futures
• 43:44 – Vision for local investment as an economy alternative to Big Tech

Tone & Language

• The conversation is deeply rooted in activist skepticism and research, but remains open, thoughtful, and driven by a desire for more democratic, sustainable alternatives.
• Both guests use clear, concrete examples, mix personal anecdotes with systemic critiques, and frequently emphasize community agency.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode provides a robust, accessible, and nuanced look at why communities across the country are standing up to oppose the unchecked expansion of data centers, how they’re building power and knowledge, and what it means in the larger battles over technology, democracy, and economic justice. Activist voices underscore that “no is a complete sentence,” and that real progress means putting community interests and input first—even (and especially) when that runs counter to Big Tech’s preferred narrative.