Valeria Souza•1 year ago Two and half years ago, I sold my apartment in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved back to St. Louis City. I had lived here before, Downtown, from 2013-2017, but had moved back to Boston and lived there from 2017-early 2023. My family and I made the decision to move back to St. Louis City because housing is more affordable here and we were ready to purchase a single family home. We uprooted our lives and moved the 1,200 miles back. We bought a single family home in The Greater Ville, 2.5 miles from the Armory (and ergo the proposed data center). Although I am employed within the tech industry and help train AI models for a living, I am vehemently and absolutely opposed to the installation of any data center anywhere within St. Louis City, and especially so close to my home. I know about data centers. Having researched the experiences of families and communities in states like Texas, Virginia, Indiana, and Tennessee, I'm well aware of the disruptive and toxic side effects of data centers on residential communities. These include, but are not limited to:1.) Residents reporting substantial drops in water pressure, or even total loss of water into their homes, following installation of a data center nearby. In other cases, people are reporting their water is suddenly dirty or contains "sediment" after the arrival of a data center.2.) Residents reporting air pollution so significant it is impeding people's breathing and producing toxic fumes, most notably in a predominantly Black community in Memphis, TN.3.) Residents reporting sudden spikes in their electric bills (as much as 3x the previous price for analogous usage) following the installation of one or more data centers in their towns or cities.4.) Residents reporting noise pollution from data centers, most notably what has been described as a "constant, 24/7/365 humming or droning sound" that persists around the clock, day and night. Because the sound is low frequency, it is reportedly much more difficult to block than other ambient noises. Within close range of a data center, these sounds can reach 85+ decibels. However, even as far as 2-3 miles away, they can reportedly reach 55-65 decibels on average, including overnight. The sound never stops. In some communities, people are reporting increased rates of chronic illness including high blood pressure, cardiac events, diabetes, anxiety, depression, and chronic insomnia due to this constant, unrelenting noise pollution. It should legitimately be considered a form of human torture. Moreover, some people's pets even have stress induced hair loss following prolonged exposure to this kind of noise. Wildlife is being disrupted and birds and other animals are being impacted by this as well.5.) Virtually total loss of property value and complete inability to sell one's home once a data center has been installed nearby.These are just a few of the adverse effects of data centers that have been well documented in other cities and states for several years at least, and I urge people to please do some research and read about these case studies. Once the data center is allowed in, they won't bother correcting these issues. The motto in the tech industry is "Move fast and break things." Local measures like fines or citations do little to bring data centers in line: what are even a hundred $1,000 noise citations to a multi-billion dollar corporation? The answer is: nothing. They don't care ,and once they're here, they won't be motivated to mitigate any adverse effects they cause to our community.Our leaders have said they want to prioritize bringing people back, or into, the City. This is not the way. Nobody wants to live near one of these monstrosities. And yes, "monstrosity" is the correct word for what a data center is.We need to be focused on creating more green spaces, parks, gardens, community centers, and sites that foster human flourishing, health, and joy. We do not need to be focused on pocketing short term profit in exchange for loss of clean and abundant water, clean air, affordable electricity, and the simple pleasure of silence at night when we sleep.Make no mistake: what you are sacrificing if you allow a data center into a residential area - - - even within a few miles of one - - - is people's health, safety, and sanity. Data centers are incompatible with human flourishing and health. It really is that simple. Read for yourself about what's happening in Indiana, Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee. People no longer want to live in their homes.Is this really the kind of environment we want in St. Louis City?I strenuously urge a permanent ban on the construction and/or installation of any current or hypothetical future data center anywhere in the City of Saint Louis. Do not let these people in. Once they're here, they'll be much harder to push out. They will consume resources beyond what our communities have capacity to sustain. They will destroy, pollute, extract/take/steal. No amount of money is worth this. Prioritize human life and human well-being.---Further Reading & Multi-Media Sources:1.) https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5469933/virginia-data-centers-residents-saying-no2.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflFFqbZ1X83.) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S27729850250002624.) https://blog.castac.org/2024/08/the-cloud-is-too-loud-spotlighting-the-voices-of-community-activists-from-the-data-center-capital-of-the-world/5.) https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-centers-water-data/6.) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/technology/meta-data-center-water.html7.) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/business/energy-environment/ai-data-centers-electricity-costs.html8.) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-ai-infrastructure-is-driving-a-sharp-rise-in-electricity-bills9.) https://spectrum.ieee.org/data-centers-pollution10.) https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO6HowkjV3b/?igsh=MWlxeW5kNmljdGFxNA==11.) https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO39jH7EaEy/?igsh=dnk5aGtyYnhlNmoz12.) https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/06/elon-musk-xai-memphis-gas-turbines-air-pollution-permits-0031758213.) https://youtu.be/cl1ctf1_JxE?si=NO7ZXYW1XU5gj3jQ
