What WON"T They Do?

 

January 22, 2026

 

The latest NIMBY cause is data centers, with their predicted use of energy and resources. And the space they’ll take, and how they’ll ruin the vibe of rural areas. I don’t blame anyone for resisting the incursions. But people want the results of the data centers. What to do, what to do?

 

Here’s what people WON’T do: Stop using AI every time they get on the web to look something up. We’re told that AI uses tremendous power; so stop using it as your default, even though it now comes up first in the search results. Scroll down.

 

Stop using it for other things, too. It’s not your therapist, it’s not your essay writer. It does have its uses, but you don’t need it all the time.

 

It’s the same thing with energy use: We complain that resources are dwindling, yet we continue to fire up the car for every trivial errand, instead of combining trips; we drive gas guzzlers; we use the gas guzzlers to make a gazillion trips a year taking our kids activities that they really could live without; we leave everything plugged in even when we’re not using it—sure the power drain may be minimal in your house, but with a few billion people doing it, yes, it can add up; we crank up the heat and the air conditioning even in moderate climates; we build in unsuitable environments that demand huge amounts of heat or air conditioning, or that use enormous amounts of water to keep the lawns and golf courses green…

 

What WON’T people do to keep the environment safe or their neighborhoods intact?

 

A lot, as it turns out.

 

(As a refresher, NIMBY stands for “Not In My Backyard”)