JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Existing data centers across the country and those proposed in Mississippi continue to be a heated debate over economic growth and the environmental impact. While the economic impact is the selling point to bring in these facilities, many organizations said there is a greater cost to surrounding communities.
Mississippi For a Just World, a human rights organization, has been at the forefront of the fight against data centers in the state. This week, the Jackson City Council voted for a six-month moratorium on the development of data centers in the city.
Local mayors meet with Mississippi lawmakers on data centers
Candace Abdul-Tawwab the co-founder of Mississippi For a Just World, said abandoning and pushing people out of their homes in order to draw outside revenue isn’t the way to go. She said the city has enough unresolved issued that a data center could make it worse.
“We already live in the City of Jackson where we have water issues. Why would you bring a data center to the community, and then to use our water sources that we’re already struggling to have access to clean, healthy water at all times? We don’t want Black communities, impoverished communities, southern communities to be exploited. Right? We don’t want factories or warehouses to be placed in our neighborhoods that will cause environmental harm,” she said…