Environmental activist Erin Brockovich takes on data centre secrecy

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has targeted the lack of transparency in data centres. She is demanding that data centre operators disclose the environmental impact of their operations. This is the latest campaign from the activist, which questions the hidden impact of the technology industry on the environment.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has launched a new campaign aimed at forcing data centre operators to disclose the real environmental impact of their operations. The activist, who became world-famous fighting contamination from PG&E in California, has now set her sights on transparency issues in the rapidly growing data centre sector.

Data centres' hidden impact

According to Brockovich, the data centre industry has grown at a tremendous pace, but the public lacks access to information about how much water and energy these facilities consume and how much pollution they generate. Data centres are increasingly built infrastructure projects worldwide, needed by providers of artificial intelligence, cloud services, and streaming services.

Environmental concerns

At the heart of the activist's concerns is the fact that large-scale data centres use significant quantities of water for cooling, which can have a major impact on local communities. Additionally, these facilities consume large amounts of electricity, which often comes from fossil fuels. Brockovich emphasises that local residents may not even know how large these operations are that are operating in their neighbourhoods.

Brockovich has called on both regulatory bodies and data centre operators to embrace greater transparency and accountability. Her campaign has found support among environmental organisations, which have also been concerned about the growing footprint of the technology industry on our planet.