Erin Brockovich Advocates for Increased Transparency in Data Center Operations

Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich has launched an initiative aimed at increasing transparency regarding the development of data centers and their impact on local communities.

Brockovich, famously depicted by Julia Roberts in her fight against Pacific Gas & Electric, has introduced a new website that includes a comprehensive map of data centers across the United States.

This map is labeled as a “work in progress” and will be continuously updated based on feedback from the community about the data centers. In a recent article on Substack, Brockovich noted that after local concerns were raised in April, she received nearly 4,000 responses within the first month.

“The primary issue—surpassing concerns related to noise, water usage, and increasing utility bills—was a recurring theme: the demand for transparency,” she stated.

Brockovich emphasized that her position is not fundamentally against data centers or artificial intelligence. Rather, she focuses on “the trends illustrated on our map: project announcements made only after permits have been issued, developers ignoring information requests, and local officials signing NDAs before communities are informed about upcoming projects.”