@mollytaft.com
disaster dyke on the apocalypse beat @wired.com . very tall with a very short dog. they/them. [email protected], signal: @mollytaft.99. mollytaft.com
@mollytaft.comwondering which midterm races have been most fueled by data center dissent? i've got you covered — here's my guide to all the knock down drag out data center-fueled races i'm keeping an eye on for next month:
@mollytaft.comfor the record i am writing about how much i loved it lol
@mollytaft.comfor the record it's the best movie i've seen in years so listen to mandy!
@mollytaft.comok bluesky how are we feeling about DIGGER
@searchlightinstitute.orgReposted by @mollytaft.com🚨 New Searchlight research, shared first with @mollytaft.com and WIRED, finds MORE THAN 100 planned data centers in rural America will be eligible for new tax benefits starting next year.
www.wired.com/story/rural-...
@mollytaft.comReposted by @mollytaft.comNEW: starting jan 1, a new federal tax windfall could kick in for rural data centers around the country
new research from @searchlightinst.bsky.social shows dozens of projects potentially eligible for the break — as hyperscalers battle backlash against dcs
@wired.comReposted by @mollytaft.comUnder the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, data center projects in rural areas could be eligible for major tax benefits starting next year. Some hyperscalers do not seem eager to take the free cash. www.wired.com/story/rural-...
@mollytaft.cominterestingly, when i reached out to big tech companies asking if they planned on taking the benefits, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon all denied using the program imo it's a sign of just how hostile the landscape towards dc tax breaks has become since the passage of OBBB
@mollytaft.comthe tax break comes from new designations for opportunity zones in rural areas, passed last year explicitly to help DC construction this is also not going unnoticed in washington. sen hawley intro'ed a bill last month specifically banning dcs from taking advantage of this tax credit
@mollytaft.comNEW: starting jan 1, a new federal tax windfall could kick in for rural data centers around the country
new research from @searchlightinst.bsky.social shows dozens of projects potentially eligible for the break — as hyperscalers battle backlash against dcs
@mollytaft.comAmazon also rolled out $1 bn in commitments to DC communities, including free community college and workforce training if you live near an Amazon data center and have thoughts about this im all ears! [email protected], or signal mollytaft.76
@mollytaft.comin a post announcing the changes, CEO Matt Garman acknowledged how the local backlash against data centers is halting the AI buildout, and spent several paragraphs pushing back against what he calls "misinformation and outright lies” around data centers
@mollytaft.comNEW: Amazon announced this morning that it has stopped using NDAs in its data center agreements with local officials NDAs have been a massive flashpoint in anti-data center backlash, w local and national legislation being proposed in recent weeks to stop the practice:
@ketanjoshi.coReposted by @mollytaft.comI think if you want a demo of the mechanics of how AI doom-hype detracts from the climate push, listen to this Al Gore interview w/ @heatmap.news, where he dismisses the climate impacts (using a spurious comparison, imo) but treats the chatbot doom as serious and real
@mollytaft.comthanks for reading dana!
@fisherdanar.bsky.socialReposted by @mollytaft.comImportant piece by @mollytaft.com:
@mollytaft.comi did a little Climate Week postmortem on data centers: co2 emissions are far & away the most alarming part of the buildout. but there hasn't been much of a reckoning beyond climate spaces kind of wondering when it'll enter the larger convo, if at all, and what that may look like
@manishakrishnan.bsky.socialReposted by @mollytaft.comkind of obsessed with the fact that there's an AA-style support group called Dogs Anonymous for owners who don't want to publicly admit they can't stand their dogs. by @jasooooon.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/inside...
@mollytaft.comyeah this is a great point! i genuinely am just trying to approach dc and energy development from as fair a perspective as possible (i liked some writing from jane flegal on this for ex) even though flexibility in theory is often really far from how flexibility is executed on the ground
@ketanjoshi.coReposted by @mollytaft.com@mollytaft.com also highlights that for all the noise and heat from progressive circles on data centres, climate is not a high priority within the 'environment' subcategory. locals are looking at air pollution, water etc. Social media's similar.
Leaves whoever's left in the climate space to care
