IE Latino Voices: AI, data centers and environmental justice in Coachella

The city of Coachella, California, is currently contemplating a permanent ban on the construction of new data centers. This consideration comes amid growing concerns from local residents and advocates regarding potential adverse impacts on water resources, increased extreme heat, air and noise pollution, and rising electricity costs.

Professor Juan de Lara, an associate professor at the University of Southern California and director of the USC Center for Latinx and Latin American Studies, authored a brief on the issue. He argues that data center development in the Coachella Valley could exacerbate existing environmental and health challenges. De Lara, whose family lives near proposed data center sites, highlighted that these facilities are significant resource consumers of land, water, and energy. He warned that data centers convert existing agricultural communities into industrial centers and contribute to a 'heat-island effect' by venting substantial heat into surrounding neighborhoods, potentially raising local temperatures by 14 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

The professor emphasized that the issue is one of environmental justice. He noted a pattern in California where vulnerable, working-class communities of color, such as Coachella (which is 98% Latino and recognized as environmentally vulnerable by federal and state agencies), are disproportionately targeted for data center construction. De Lara contends that these communities are being asked to bear the social and environmental burdens of AI development, with companies extracting resources and profits while leaving existing communities to contend with the damage.