10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS ENVIRONMENT JUNE 13, 2025 Ypsilanti residents are organizing to "Stop the Data Center" What do you think of when you think of “AI?” Five years ago most people would still have been imagining dystopian humanoid robot takeovers or self-driving cars. Nowadays some think of sending goofy prompts into ChatGPT, while others remember time saved when writing college finals or even grant applications. What we should think of instead is facial recognition surveillance, personal data algorithms and automated weapons — because it is these types of projects that provide the funding and political force behind the development of artificial intelligence. On December 5, 2024, Ann Arbor SPARK (local economic accelerator) and University of Michigan Research announced in similar releases that U-M and Los Alamos National Laboratory are co-developing a $1.2 billion AI research facility “focused on science, energy and national security.” Los Alamos National Laboratory is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is the creator of the atomic bomb. The partnering institutions call this data center “a catalyst for Southeast Michigan,” and “a significant investment in Ypsilanti Township,” as tech investments are all-too-often described. The facility will have two parts: one for collaborative research between U-M faculty, students and Los Alamos, and another for Los Alamos scientists and engineers to address “national security challenges using AI and high-performance computing.” When you look at computing power (in other words, the resources needed to run the data center), the first part of the project focused on education and training is only using 9%, while the second part that is exclusive to military County is not green, nor reliable. The water used to cool the plant needs to be dealt with one way or another — whether using closed loop cooling, natural evaporation, or neither, substantial resources are necessary to keep the machine running. In online forums, community memLINDSAY CALKA Publisher bers have stated other reasons for purposes takes 91%. The project is planned to be located on South Hydro Park in Ypsilanti Township (20-acre property at 10221 Textile Road), near the West Willow neighborhood. Residents in this area have read between the lines on this facility and are organizing to stop it before the ground breaks. Reasons to stop The facility will be all-electric, but substantial amounts of water are needed to cool down the machinery to prevent it from overheating or breaking down. According to research. umich.edu, “All water used by the facility will come from municipal water sources. The Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority has confirmed adequate water and wastewater capacity.” Although Ypsilanti Township is not experiencing a fresh water shortage at this moment, NPR’s Steven Starr reported May 20 that nearly one in four data centers are located in the Great Lakes states and warns that at the current large, but unknown rate of water usage in the Great Lakes region is charting towards unsustainable. Further, electricity in Washtenaw opposing the research facility, including surrendering large plots of land to non taxable entities, the pattern of gentrification in neighborhoods with U-M and/or tech investment, foreseeable noise pollution, lack of jobs for existing residents, and the purpose of the research itself. Local resistance In March 2025, seemingly overnight, stickers with the simple messages of “Stop the Data Center,” “Stop the Quantum War Machine” and “U-M out of Ypsi” covered downtown Ypsilanti street and park signs, light poles and walls. The guerilla information campaign was organized by Stop the Data Center, which can be followed on Instagram at @stopthedata. Although the data center was publicly announced last year, construction will not begin until 2026 and is projected to be fully completed by 2030. Stop the Data Center is organizing to stop it as early as possible — and a look at similar campaigns around the country support Stop the Data Center’s strategy. Data Center Watch (www.datacenterwatch.org/report) reports that across the United States alone “$18 billion worth of data center projects were blocked, and another $46 billion of projects were delayed over the last two years in the face of opposition from residents and activist groups.” Further, the study shows that data center opposition not only unites environmentalists, the anti war and anti gentrification movements, but also has bipartisan support. In April, activists began canvassing West Willow. In these initial conversations canvassers reported, “People in the neighborhoods surrounding the data center are deeply opposed to the data center! Of the 50 people who opened their door on our last Saturday out, 45 people gave us their contact information and were eager to get involved. People were just so grateful for the opportunity to fight against this project.” May 24, Stop the Data Center held their first assembly at North Hydro Park, which was attended by more than 80 people expressing anger and frustration over the project. The afternoon of May 29, 15 activists were forcibly removed from the #SciFM25: Scientific Discovery in the Age of AI conference at the Rackham Building. Of those 15, three were grabbed, detained and issued trespass citations and banned from University of Michigan property. Take action Are you willing to give up clean water and reliable energy for faster, more direct Google searches? What minor conveniences and natural resources are you willing to trade for prolonged wars globally and stronger surveillance locally? Stop the Data Center is Hosting monthly info sessions in North Hydro Park. The next one is Saturday July 14 at noon. Future dates will be announced on the instagram and via their email newsletter you can get at substack.com/@stopthedatacenter ?invite Stop the Data Center Campaign is calling on concerned Washtenaw County residents, particularly those in Ypsilanti Township, to attend the upcoming Ypsi Township Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday June 17, 5:30 p.m. located at 7200 S. Huron River Drive. PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
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