Tech Giants Are Trying to Cover Up the Environmental Impacts of Their Data Centers
News ClipProgressive.org·Mount Pleasant, Racine County, WI·10/22/2025
Tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Elon Musk's xAI are fighting to keep their data centers' environmental impacts hidden, including massive water usage from the Great Lakes. Microsoft tried to claim its water usage data was a trade secret in Wisconsin, but was sued by environmental advocates and ultimately failed to exempt itself from public disclosure laws.
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Gov: Wisconsin officials, Great Lakes Compact, Midwest Environmental Advocates, city of Racine
A new Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, will require more than eight million gallons of water each year to operate, according to records that Microsoft did everything in its power to keep hidden from the public. Last month, the company argued to Wisconsin officials that documents