Eloise is a 1-year-old mini Jerusalem donkey who lives in Hernando, Florida, a small town in the western part of the state where tourists never venture. She lives a fairly quiet life, sharing the farm with Elsie the cow; goats Honey, Dolly, Roger, Polly, and Dodger; and Tom the turkey. Yet somehow, Eloise has become the face of resistance to data center construction in the area.
At a June government meeting in Citrus County, residents went head-to-head with lawyers who touted the benefits of the data centers. About four hours into the debate, one resident, discussing the harmful effects of the low-frequency noise emitted by data centers, noted: “There’s a little donkey right there on the street. The donkey’s name is Eloise. And low-frequency noise is critical to Eloise.” (The story of Eloise was recounted in its entirety just this week, thanks to the dogged reporters of the Tampa Bay Times.)
Five hours later, when the planning commission voted down the proposal, one member commented, “I’m concerned for Eloise, because she is kind of the face of this application.”
Indeed, visit the area today and you’ll see residents wearing T-shirts with Eloise’s face across their chest; she has become a rallying point for data center opponents. She is not, however, the only animal to make things difficult for data center companies.
Lions and tigers and . . . Brad Paisley?
Earlier this year, citizens in Nashville launched a fight against the construction of a proposed data center next to the Nashville Zoo, with country singer Brad Paisley calling it “an absolute nightmare scenario.”
Zoo officials said the data center could have a negative impact on the animals it cares for, despite the assurances developer DC Blox gave the community.
“No one has shared studies or environmental impact assessments. Just their word,” the nonprofit Nashville Zoo wrote on its petition to halt development. “We cannot afford to find out years from now how this facility has negatively impacted our 1.4 million visitors, our local community, or the 3,000 animals entrusting us with their care.”
Invoking the animals seems to be working. Earlier this month, Nashville’s Metro Council authorized the use of eminent domain to purchase land owned by the developer, blocking plans for the data center. (A legal fight is expected.)
Concerned cows
Ranchers in several states have also expressed concerns over data center construction in the rural areas where their farms are often located. Farmers in Texas, Utah, and Georgia have all recently warned about the water consumption of these centers. The issue is of particular interest for farmers in states that are already dealing with water shortages.
“A cow is consuming about 35 gallons of water a day,” said Andrew Coppin, CEO of Texas-based agritech company Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions. “A data center is using about the same amount as 140,000 cows.”
Conservationists are getting in the fight as well, publishing a report examining which states are putting endangered species at risk in favor of data centers. (Virginia topped that list, with 283 data centers alongside 79 endangered species.)
While water is a concern there, another threat is the extensive land clearing, which can result in habitat fragmentation and forest loss.
Puppies and kittens
For those who can resist the charm of cows and donkeys, Alabama has an animal appeal to stop construction of a data center that may be even harder to ignore.
The Greater Birmingham Humane Society filed a suit in July to block a developer from building an AI data center next to its planned veterinary hospital campus. The project, according to the nonprofit, endangers 44,000 animals.
The lawsuit alleges the city of Birmingham fast-tracked the developer’s proposed facility “at lightning speed” this year by circumventing zoning laws, depriving the society of an opportunity to voice concerns, including risks from “noise that may interfere with its operations and be harmful to animals and humans.”
It’s a fight the humane society knows well. Eight years ago, it lost a site when the city sold a property to a different data center developer. That company? DC Blox, the same one that’s currently involved in the fight with the Nashville Zoo.