On September 11th, a computer error from the Equinix data center in Secaucus, New Jersey, triggered the release of approximately 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel and waste into a small stream of the Hackensack River. Data centers have been under intense public scrutiny for the past few months, with concerns about their water usage, crude and ineffective zoning laws, and how they affect the communities around them. With the recent diesel spillage, the Equinix data center has just earned a new reason to be the subject of public outcry.
With AI exploding onto the technological scene in the past few years, tech companies and governments are racing to put all their eggs in the artificial basket. Because demand for AI companies’ needs is skyrocketing, data centers housing thousands of computer systems used to train AI models are blanketing the country. This is especially an issue when they’re around residential areas and wildlife. A primary concern is the large amount of water and electricity these data centers take to operate. Some data centers can consume as much as a million households’ worth of electricity, and thousands of gallons of water in order to cool their systems. These come out of the resources of the surrounding communities, and the ripple effects of skyrocketing electricity and water usage are significant to those that live near these data centers.
The Secaucus Equinix data center demonstrates an alarming principle: A simple computer error could dump thousands of pounds of toxic waste into a local river. What’s an unimportant mistake to a tech company could have disastrous consequences for the people who have to share a town with the data center. While allegedly 3,500 gallons of diesel have been recovered, 1,500 gallons of unaccounted-for chemical waste float in the waters that animals call home and lead to our drinking water sources.
As the AI race blazes on, we have to remember where we put our feet before we sprint. As the United States tries to become the AI superpower of the world, the growing consequences of that title are becoming impossible to ignore.
