A recent massive land purchase in Lamar County, Georgia, has local residents concerned. Bought for over $270 million, the parcel, located off High Falls Road and stretching along Interstate 75, is now owned by Amazon, and there has been speculation that the international conglomerate will build a data center there, WGXA reported.

"It disrupts the ecosystem, and when they have decided that it's over, they can just pick up and leave," Barnesville local Makalyn McGuire said. "Who is here left to deal with the consequences of what they've built?" 

What's happening?

If the rumors are true and Amazon is indeed going to construct a data center, it won't be the first company to do so — in fact, Amazon itself has been building them throughout the United States for years. But the facilities are starting to receive ferocious pushback.

For instance, communities throughout Memphis have been mobilizing against a data center backed by Elon Musk that has led to a spike in severe health issues, particularly in majority-Black neighborhoods near the data center's location. 

Why are corporate data centers bad?

Data centers are a societal problem on a number of levels. They exist to house the hardware and software necessary to run so many of Amazon's and other corporations' operations, from gaming to streaming and, lately, artificial intelligence. 

Secondly and relatedly, data centers also severely strain the environment. It takes significant amounts of energy to power these centers and the programs running inside them, leading to water waste as well as increasing pollution. These buildings have even led energy companies to pivot back to fossil fuels to meet such significant needs, given that clean energy infrastructure is not yet widespread or scaled up enough to support these companies' prodigious ambitions.

How can citizens push back against these corporations?

Obviously, corporations the size of Amazon are extremely powerful, and they may not be as concerned with responding to individual citizens as their shareholders. But as has been shown with companies such as Tesla earlier this year, sustained public pressure can make a difference, especially on an issue as localized as a data center that will have tangible, everyday impacts on people.

It's important to remember that while these corporations may seem overwhelming in their might, they are not infallible. "Look for those public hearings, those commissioner's public hearings, and come out, support," McGuire told WGXA. "Try to save your environment. This is where we live. … Just pay attention."

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