Local Elections Matter
Can we have responsible technological advancements?
As we navigate the complexities of our current political landscape, it’s clear that the path forward requires a multifaceted approach prioritizing voter engagement, community building, and progressive values.
By focusing on our “True Compass“
✅ running candidates in every district -> Sweet spot statehouses
✅ demystifying how to run for office
✅ building a robust media ecosystem
✅ sustainable year round connection with voters
✅ leadership development
… we can create a more inclusive and effective political strategy and reverse voter apathy. Together, we can forge a brighter path that includes all 92 Counties that make up Indiana and beyond. Now let’s get into it.
Now lets get at it!
As of March 2025, and according to a Statista report the
United States has approximately 5,426 data centers,
Germany has 529 and the United Kingdom has 523.
✅ The U.S. has about 926% more data centers than Germany.
✅ The U.S. has about 937% more data centers than the U.K..
Why does the United States far and away outpace other countries with the number of data centers across this county?
It’s Simple:
1️⃣ Building and operating data centers in Europe and the EU is governed by a comprehensive set of rules focused on…
✅ sustainability,
✅ energy efficiency,
✅ transparency,
✅ environmental impact, and
✅ security.
The main framework is set at the EU level but is also complemented by individual country and local regulations.
2️⃣ Who we elect to represent our communities matters.
A More Perfect Union traveled to Indiana to help shine a light on the data center debate. But I want to point out that we can be pro-growth and responsible at the same time. The question we need to focus on → why is the United States seeing an explosion of data centers?
The video below discusses and clearly outlines the impact of large data centers on communities in Indiana, particularly in New Carlisle and Michigan City. Amazon is building its largest data center in the US in New Carlisle, which is expected to consume millions of gallons of water from the Kankakee aquifer to cool its servers. Residents in the area are concerned about the effects of the data center on their water supply, as the construction process has already depleted the local pond and affected the groundwater.
The data center will serve Anthropic, an AI startup backed by Amazon, and is expected to consume as much power as a million homes. Local residents, including Joy and Gene VanLoue, a fifth-generation farming family, are worried about the long-term consequences of the data center on their community.
In Michigan City, another data center project is being proposed, and residents are fighting against it due to concerns about pollution, health impacts, and the potential for increased energy costs. The city’s council ultimately voted to grant tax abatements to the data center developers, despite opposition from residents.
“In a 7 - 2 decision, the city council voted to grant the Data center tax abatements for the next 10 years in exchange for 30 full time jobs. And some $26 million in economic development incentives over the next 40 years.”
The video highlights the broader issue of Indiana’s attractiveness to Big Tech companies, due in part to the state’s supportive policies and Republican leadership. The state’s supermajority Republican legislature has passed bills that benefit data center development, such as providing sales and use tax exemptions for equipment purchased to build data centers.
“Republicans hold 40 out of 50 seats in the state Senate and 70 out of 100 seats in the Indiana House of Representatives, including Senators Eric Koch - and Edmund Soliday, who authored a bill allowing utility companies to pass along some of the cost of small modular nuclear reactors to its customers and keep coal plants online, all in support of AI data centers.“
“But it was another bill, House Bill 1405, introduced in 2019 by Representative Martin Carbaugh that laid the groundwork for the data center boom, providing the sales and use tax exemptions for equipment purchased to build.”
Residents and community organizers are pushing back against the data center developments, citing concerns about environmental impacts, health effects, and the lack of transparency around the projects. The video highlights that the fight against data centers is not limited to Indiana, but is a broader issue across the US - but again, why is this issue exploding across the United States?
Let’s restate the obvious: Building and operating data centers in Europe and the EU is governed by a comprehensive set of rules focused on sustainability, energy efficiency, transparency, environmental impact, and security.
The main framework is set at the EU level but is also complemented by individual country and local regulations.
Video Credit: More Perfect Union
EU Regulations and Penalties: A Worthwhile Read
The following is a summary of key EU regulations and associated penalties. Reviewing these can provide valuable insight into the EU’s regulatory framework.
Key EU-Wide Regulations
The core regulation is the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which imposes mandatory sustainability and energy reporting on all data centers with an installed IT power demand of 500 kW or more.
Operators must report key performance indicators—including total and IT energy usage, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), water usage, renewable energy share, and waste heat reuse—annually to a centralized EU database, starting from September 15, 2024.
The reporting obligations are the same for all large-scale facilities (enterprise, colocation, and cloud data centers).
Data centers must adhere to the EU’s sustainability metrics, with compliance monitored by the European Commission and national authorities. Non-compliance can lead to fines, delayed permits, and negative public ESG ratings.
Sustainability and Environmental Requirements
All new and majorly upgraded data centers must show clear measures to minimize environmental impact, including energy-efficient designs, renewable power sourcing, advanced cooling techniques, and, where possible, the reuse of waste heat (for example, supplying local district heating networks).
The EU encourages the use of brownfield sites (redevelopment of previously industrial areas) over new greenfield land to limit land consumption and environmental disruption, although enforcement of this varies by country and local authority.
Larger companies also fall under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which imposes further ESG and climate accountability disclosures.
Security and Privacy Guidelines
Compliance with GDPR is mandatory: strict rules apply to the management, processing, and storage of personal data hosted in EU-based data centers.
Most data centers must implement ISO27001 (information security) and ISO9001 (quality management) standards as well as risk-assessment and incident reporting procedures under the NIS2 Directive (for cybersecurity).
Local and National Regulations
Local governments and national authorities may impose further planning rules, such as requirements for environmental impact assessments, stricter zoning laws, utility grid impact reviews, and community engagement. These requirements can vary widely by country and sometimes by region or municipality.
In some countries (for example, Italy), building on greenfield sites is discouraged, and environmental impact assessments are strongly recommended or required for large facilities.
PENALTIES ➡️ Accountability - Go Figure!!!
Penalties for non‑compliance with EU data center rules can include substantial financial fines, operational sanctions, and reputational damage. The most severe penalties are connected to breaches of GDPR (privacy regulations), sustainability reporting, and energy efficiency directives.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), fines for data center operators can reach up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global annual turnover, whichever is higher, for serious violations.
Less severe or procedural violations can result in fines of up to €10 million or 2% of annual worldwide revenue.
Sustainability and energy efficiency violations (such as failing to report required data to the EU database) can result in administrative fines similar in scale, often set by individual member states based on EU framework guidance.
While some proponents of technological progress in the EU claim that the region is lagging behind due to cautious regulatory approaches, thereby missing out on investment and growth opportunities, I firmly believe that technological advancements and investments can be achieved while prioritizing corporate and social responsibility.
The real issue lies not with the pace of technological progress, but rather with the individuals we elect to office. Those in power wield significant influence over the decisions that shape our lives, making it crucial that we choose leaders who share our values and priorities.
What I am following very closely:
For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans’ top news source
For the first time, social media has displaced television as the top way Americans get news. “The proportion accessing news via social media and video networks in the United States (54%) is sharply up,” the report’s authors write, “overtaking both TV news (50%) and news websites/apps (48%) for the first time.