One Student's Map Exposes Where Data Centers Are Hiding in Plain Sight

When University of Washington student Isabelle Reksopuro heard rumors about Google snapping up public land for data centers in Oregon, she couldn't get a straight answer. The city of The Dalles wanted 150 acres of Mount Hood National Forest for water rights - but critics argued the real beneficiary was Google's nearby campus, already guzzling a third of the town's supply. Reksopuro realized that data center politics are a black box for most communities, so she built a tool to crack it open. Using data from Epoch AI and public legislation, she created an interactive world map that tracks data center policies and public backlash in real time.

It updates four times a day, scanning news sources and adding summaries automatically. "I wanted my younger sisters to explore it and understand what's happening locally," she says. The map reveals a stark divide: Maine recently attempted the first state-level moratorium on hyperscale data centers (vetoed by the governor), while Texas hands out over $1 billion in annual tax breaks to attract them. Reksopuro isn't anti-data center, but she argues that secrecy gives tech giants the upper hand.

"If people knew about these facilities beforehand, they could negotiate for job training, environmental monitoring, or tax revenue," she explains. Her project is a reminder that transparency isn't just good policy - it's a bargaining chip.

Source: The Verge