Data centers create harmful ‘heat islands’
AJC’s recent guest opinion column “Georgia has questions about data centers. Amazon has answers” by Shannon Kellogg, vice president of public policy at Amazon Web Services, put corporate-scale public-relations budgeting on full display. However, after deftly handling self-posed questions about water use and energy costs, Amazon failed to ask and answer other pertinent questions, misleading readers about the consequences of its “planned $11 billion investment in Georgia.”
For instance, air-cooling helps conserve water resources, but it will convey the removed heat to the areas surrounding the Amazon data center. Research shows that data centers release massive amounts of waste heat, raising local air temperature by up to 4 degrees Fahrenheit and land-surface temperature by as much as 16 degrees Fahrenheit. This thermal pollution intensifies so-called “heat islands,” unfairly increasing air-conditioning dependency and costs for nearby residents. Moreover, data center overheating also seriously harms wildlife and community health.
Another conspicuously omitted factor is the dirty energy required to power Amazon’s proposed data center. Georgia Power’s massive natural-gas electricity generation for Amazon will also produce heat-trapping carbon-dioxide emissions, further worsening overheating problems. Because data center thermal pollution poses well-substantiated risks to public health and the environment, Georgia’s General Assembly and Congress must adopt strict legal controls on the size, location and environmental impacts of these facilities.
DAVID KYLER, SAINT SIMONS ISLAND
CENTER FOR A SUSTAINABLE COAST
Hegseth continues to degrade military
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s creation of an Office of Religious Affairs is the latest example of how the secretary, with the president’s approval, is degrading our military readiness and, by extension, our national security.
The secretary’s lack of experience leading such a large and diverse organization is evident in his mismanagement of the Iran war, his lack of understanding in the management of weapons supply chains, in replacing members of the general staff whose knowledge and experience are invaluable with less experienced staff who act and think like he does, and in his open disdain for anyone who doesn’t agree with his view of the world.
In introducing the Office of Religious Affairs, the secretary’s stated intent is to “strengthen the moral, ethical and spiritual readiness of our warfighters,” but it is designed to institutionalize his narrow view of the qualities a member of the military must possess. This will limit the number of people willing to serve, depriving the armed services of the diversity of thought critical to any organization’s success, and it will worsen the myopia currently plaguing the Department of Defense.
MARK P. HUNTER, ATLANTA