Development with measured environmental cost is commonplace, and normally considered a necessary evil for progress in human society. Growth through development aims at idealistic pursuits such as gaining knowledge or influence. But it can become outright unethical when it directly harms the vulnerable, especially when those pursuing it are actively making commitments to lofty sustainability goals that are antithetical to a project’s inherent ecological effects.
The University of Michigan exemplifies this conundrum with sprawling construction projects, climbing emissions and growing student populations clashing directly with its pledge for a carbon neutral future. At the crux of its recent industrial expansion, the University is partnering with Los Alamos National Laboratory to build a massive $1.25 billion data processing center in Washtenaw County.
LANL, one of 16 research and design government-owned labs for the U.S. Department of Energy, famously developed the atomic bomb. The data center — which the University would like publicly referred to as a high-performance computing facility — is conveniently close to home, right in a commercial district of Ypsilanti. The Ann Arbor population of University students and faculty will have access to all the resources the facility provides; however, the center will be far enough from home that they won’t experience any of its adverse impacts…