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Tech Won't Save Us
Data Vampires: Going Hyperscale (Episode 1)
Oct 7, 2024
Dwayne Monroe, a senior cloud consultant with over 20 years in data centers, and Cecilia Rikap, an associate professor in economics, dive into the world of hyperscale data centers. They discuss how tech giants like Amazon and Google are reshaping local economies and the environment with their insatiable resource demands. The impact on communities, including legal battles over water consumption and the push for transparency, raises critical questions about the future we want. Is the growth of cloud computing and its consequences sustainable?
31:47
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Quick takeaways
- The dominance of companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in the cloud market raises concerns over their substantial resource demands on local communities.
- The case of The Dalles, Oregon, illustrates how the allure of data center investments can significantly alter local economies and employment landscapes.
Deep dives
Community Transformation Through Data Centers
The small city of The Dalles, Oregon, faced a significant challenge in 2004 when the local aluminum industry began to decline, causing anxiety about the future of jobs and local revenue. Chris Sacca claimed that a company called Design LLC was interested in building a data center in the city, promising hundreds of jobs and a sizable investment, which enticed local officials. The city leveraged a tax incentive program initially designed for small manufacturers to attract this project, allowing the data center to benefit from substantial property tax exemptions. Eventually, this led to the realization that the actual company behind the project was Google, marking The Dalles as the site of the tech giant's first company-owned data center, shifting the trajectory of the local economy and employment landscape significantly.
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Discover
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Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode