Erin Brockovich Advocates for Increased Transparency in Data Center Operations

Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich has initiated a new program focused on improving transparency about the development of data centers and their impact on local communities.

Brockovich, who gained fame through Julia Roberts’ portrayal of her legal fight against Pacific Gas & Electric, has introduced a website that provides a map showcasing data centers across the United States.

This map is referred to as a “work in progress,” continually updated based on community feedback regarding data centers. In a recent Substack post, Brockovich revealed that after local concerns were raised in April, she received almost 4,000 responses in the first month alone.

“The main issue — surpassing worries like noise, water consumption, and increasing utility bills — can be summed up in one widely mentioned term from the feedback: transparency,” she noted.

Brockovich emphasized that she is not taking a “blanket stance against data centers” or AI, but is focusing on “the trends illustrated in our map: announcements of projects happening only after permits are issued, developers ignoring questions, and local officials signing NDAs before communities are informed about proposed projects.”