Virginia has become the global epicenter for data center construction, surpassing every other region in sheer volume. Tech companies are aggressively expanding facilities—sometimes just miles from some of America’s most revered landmarks, including Manassas National Battlefield Park.
“The amount of surface land that is being displaced by data centers and everything that goes with that, I don’t think people understand what’s really happening,” says Elena Schlossberg, a prominent activist opposing data center growth in Northern Virginia. “There’s NIMBY and there’s NOTE, and NOTE is ‘not over there, either.’”
This week on Reveal, the focus turns to the intersection of artificial intelligence, local resistance, and the unchecked expansion of tech infrastructure. The program examines how industry leaders are shaping a future that communities may not have chosen.
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