‘This is not acceptable:’ Memphis activists block xAI operations to protest pollution

Activists in Memphis staged a 'die-in' protest outside xAI’s Colossus 1 supercomputer facility, blocking its main driveway for two hours to express their discontent over pollution. Wearing respirator masks to symbolize air pollution and for potential protection, the seven protestors sang and chanted, demanding regulation and calling for polluting corporations like xAI to exit Memphis. The activists, part of a coalition of local environmental and social justice groups, specifically cited concerns about air pollutants from the facility’s natural gas turbines. They referred to a petition filed last summer by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which identified Colossus 1 as likely the largest industrial emitter of nitrogen oxides in Memphis, contributing to smog and respiratory issues. One activist noted that she could hear the turbines from her mother’s home and has since developed respiratory allergies. The protestors' action aimed to highlight the perceived lack of regulation and the negative impact of such industrial operations on the local community.