People across the country are pushing for moratoriums, and electeds who approve projects are being punished

Supporters say the movement is encouraging, not only because it could slow an industry they argue will diminish their property values, strain water and energy resources and cause greater unemployment, but also because it features a phenomenon that is nearing extinction in American politics: unity among Republicans and Democrats.

“It reflects the growing anxiety about AI writ large,” said Evan Sutton, a Seattle resident who works in strategic communications and has voluntarily helped datacenter opponents in 10 states, including California, Montana and Ohio. “People feel like this technology is being shoved down our throats.”

The US has more than 4,400 datacenters, according to Data Center Map, and one center can consume as much electricity as 2,000 homes, according to a University of Michigan report. They also require water for cooling, and a typical datacenter uses 300,000 gallons of water each day (equivalent to the demands of about 1,000 households), but large datacenters can use an estimated 5m gallons of water each day, equivalent to the daily usage of a town with about 10,000 to 50,000 residents, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.