Opinion: AI boom doesn’t have to resurrect fossil fuels. The Midwest can show the way.
This opinion piece highlights that the environmental impact of data centers is a growing concern due to the massive investment driven by artificial intelligence. It suggests that the Midwest region has the potential to demonstrate how to expand data infrastructure sustainably without increasing reliance on fossil fuels.
An opinion piece from Gary W. Dorris, Kerry C. Duggan, Jigar Shah, and James L. Connaughton, published in Crain's Detroit on June 18, 2026, addresses the escalating debate surrounding the environmental effects of data centers. The authors note that significant investment in data center expansion, driven by the demand for artificial intelligence, has made their environmental footprint a contentious issue. The piece posits that the Midwest region could serve as a model for sustainable data center development, demonstrating how the industry can grow without necessarily increasing reliance on fossil fuels.