Artificial intelligence may seem weightless. We ask a chatbot a question, upload a photo, or stream a video, and the answer appears almost instantly. But behind every AI query lies a vast industrial infrastructure of warehouses filled with servers running day and night. These facilities, known as data centers, have become one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand in the world, bringing with them significant impacts on our climate, water supplies, air quality, and local communities.

Across California, residents are increasingly asking a simple question: Who benefits, and who bears the costs?

The answer has sparked one of the state’s newest environmental movements.

Data Centers Are Industrial Facilities

Despite the clean image often associated with the digital economy, modern data centers are among the most resource-intensive industrial developments being proposed in California.

Large AI data centers require enormous amounts of electricity to power thousands of computer servers operating around the clock. They also consume tremendous quantities of water for cooling systems. Depending on the design and climate, a single hyperscale data center can use hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of gallons of water each day.

When electricity demand rises rapidly, utilities often must build new transmission lines, substations, and generating capacity. If those investments are not carefully planned, the costs can ultimately be shared by all ratepayers, while greenhouse gas emissions increase if fossil-fuel generation fills the gap. California lawmakers have spent the past two years debating how to regulate the industry’s growing energy and water demands, but many proposed statewide protections have stalled.

Beyond electricity and water, residents living near data centers frequently raise concerns about:

• Constant noise from cooling equipment.
• Diesel backup generators that can affect local air quality.
• Large industrial buildings replacing open space or commercial land.
• Heat released into surrounding neighborhoods.
• Increased pressure on already strained electric grids.

For communities working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while conserving water during a changing climate, these impacts present a troubling contradiction.

California Communities Are Saying “No”

In June, residents of Monterey Park made national history.

By an overwhelming margin, voters approved a permanent ban on new data centers, making Monterey Park the first city in the United States to prohibit these facilities through a public vote. The campaign grew out of neighborhood concerns over water consumption, air pollution, electricity costs, noise, and the proximity of a proposed AI data center to homes and schools. Community members organized rapidly, gathered signatures, educated neighbors in multiple languages, and convinced city leaders to let voters decide. More than 86% supported the ban.

The victory demonstrated that local communities can shape the future of AI infrastructure rather than simply accepting projects presented as inevitable.

The movement has continued to spread.

Communities including Coachella, Imperial County, Oakley, and others have pursued moratoriums, stricter regulations, or outright opposition to proposed facilities after residents questioned whether the environmental costs justified the promised economic benefits.

Calistoga Shows the Power of Early Community Action

Northern California recently added another example.

A proposal was presented to transform part of the Calistoga Fairgrounds into an AI-focused data center accompanied by a multi-story parking garage and even a helipad. Although city officials emphasized that it was only a conceptual presentation, residents immediately voiced concerns about pollution, noise, water use, and preserving the community’s small-town character.

The public response was swift.

Within days, city officials announced they would not pursue the idea, citing overwhelming community opposition. What began as a conceptual proposal never advanced because residents spoke up before it became a formal development application.

The Calistoga experience illustrates an important lesson: early public engagement matters. Communities do not have to wait until permits are approved before participating in decisions that will shape their future.

The Environmental Questions We Should Be Asking

California has established ambitious climate goals. We are investing billions in renewable energy, electric vehicles, habitat restoration, and water conservation. At the same time, AI companies are proposing infrastructure that could dramatically increase electricity demand over the coming decade.

That tension deserves careful public discussion.

Every proposed data center should answer several basic questions:

• Where will the electricity come from?
• How much water will be consumed during drought conditions?
• Will local residents pay higher utility rates?
• What are the impacts on nearby neighborhoods?
• Does the project advance California’s climate goals?
• Are there better locations or cleaner technologies available?

These questions are not anti-technology. They are fundamental principles of responsible environmental planning.

Communities deserve transparent environmental review before approving facilities that may operate continuously for decades.

Lessons for Sonoma County

Sonoma County has consistently demonstrated that environmental leadership begins at the local level.

Whether protecting mature forests, preserving open space, restoring habitat, or reducing plastic pollution, our community has often recognized that local decisions shape our long-term resilience. As discussed in our recent article on synthetic turf, environmental decisions should consider their full life-cycle impacts, not merely their immediate economic appeal.

The same principle applies to data centers.

Communities should evaluate not only potential tax revenue or short-term economic development, but also cumulative impacts on climate emissions, water supplies, biodiversity, infrastructure, public health, and environmental justice.

As AI continues to transform society, California has an opportunity to establish thoughtful standards rather than allowing unchecked industrial growth to outpace environmental protections.

A New Environmental Movement

Only a few years ago, few Californians gave much thought to data centers. Today they are becoming one of the defining land-use and climate issues facing local governments.

The growing resistance is not opposition to technology itself. Rather, it reflects a belief that technological innovation should not come at the expense of healthy communities, clean air, reliable water supplies, affordable electricity, or meaningful climate action.

Monterey Park demonstrated that informed residents can change public policy.

Calistoga showed that community voices can stop inappropriate projects before they begin.

Together, these communities are helping define what responsible AI infrastructure should look like, and reminding us that environmental stewardship remains one of California’s greatest strengths.

As the demand for artificial intelligence continues to grow, so too must our commitment to ensuring that the infrastructure powering it reflects our shared values of sustainability, transparency, and environmental justice.