Erin Brockovich | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #670

Today's guest is an environmental. activist and a consumer advocate. Um her. name is notorious with uh. being for the people. Uh she's known for leading some. high-profile cases over the years. Lately, she's focused on the rise of. data centers and their effects on life. around them. Uh I'm thankful today to spend time with. Ms. Erin Brockovich.

>> [music]. [singing]. >> If you need to move this here, and you. can. Um let me open your water. Sometimes. these are very uh. >> I've learned that over the hotel. I was. like, "My lord." And I work out. I was. like, "I can't get it open.". >> That's the crazy thing about today. Especially honestly with this Essentia. company, they I just opened it for you. But you.

you can't even get in their waters. It's. like that's how bad it's gotten that. they they almost keep you locked out of. clean water in this country. >> That's why my daughter will carry a. knife. Boom, she'll go just like that. >> She's like that? >> Oh, she yeah. She's military police. She's hilarious. >> Oh, she's an MP? >> She was, yes. They're they're both out. now. Matt was combat vet, yeah. >> Your son was combat? >> Yeah. My dad was Navy fighter pilot. So, definitely um. I'm a military mom and a military. daughter. >> Oh, that's beautiful. Well, thank them. for their service from us. And thank you. for your service. Uh I know you um as.

probably most of uh people a lot of. people do. Uh I know you as an. environmentalist, right? Um kind of a. truth seeker, I guess I would say. And. like a an an activist, I guess. Does. that. How do you like to be. >> Yeah, I never say activist cuz that's. always like a connotation. Um I I. advocate for clearly people. >> What about the term like a consumer. advocate? Is that fair to I kind of? >> A people advocate. >> Okay, a people advocate. Me too. I feel. like I try my best to be.

>> I do, too. >> Yeah. And And for our listeners that. don't know, uh how did you get on this. track, right? Like take me through your. journey. Um. you know, I know about the movie uh. starring Julia Roberts that was made. about your life, Erin Brockovich. But. take us into the journey of like what. happened to create uh the story that led. to the film. Like how did your activism. like lead to um. one of the largest settlements at the. time that it ever been. I think it was. like over 300 million dollars. >> 333 million. >> 333 million that was awarded.

>> at the time. Is it. >> Now they're settling for like 33. billion. >> Hey. >> It's not to laugh at, but. >> But hey. >> Times have changed. >> [laughter]. >> Dude, Erin walked to the bank so they. could run to it. That's for sure. Uh so. take us I want you to take us through. that journey uh for our listeners that. don't know. Obviously you had a care for. the outdoors. How did that start? >> Okay, so well, I've always been an. outdoor enthusiast. Uh. I was born and raised in Kansas and I. love the outdoors. Everything about it. spoke to me. Mostly because I hated school. I sucked.

at school and it took years before they. really understood I have dyslexia. >> Oh, you do? >> I do. >> Let's go, dude. My friend has it. >> I'm a dyslexic. >> Hell yeah. >> And so. >> Dude, you guys don't get any credit. >> I know. You know. >> shouldn't some of you shouldn't. But a. lot of you guys should, dude. >> You You should, you know, it's. interesting enough off topic I'll just. sit really quick. So I'm ambassador for. Made by Dyslexia run by Kate Griggs and.

Sir Richard Branson, who's also a. dyslexic. >> No way. >> Yeah. >> Dude, we got to get a good dyslexic on. here. >> You do and they're everywhere. >> dude. [laughter] Half of my friends are. like they can't even complete a. handshake. They're just not doing good. You know, it's like. >> We just like code differently. We have. pattern recognition, but I didn't even. know until I became ambassador for Made. by Dyslexia that there's 1 billion. dyslexics on the planet. 1 billion.

>> A 1 billion D's in this world? That's. crazy. Let me see. >> Right. >> A billion? Nah. I'm saying that's ridiculous. >> Yeah. >> I got to learn a little bit more about. this. Um. so take me through, you know, your. journey or experience as like a human. advocate, like as a environmentalist, you know, um. can you just take us through that so. that for our listeners that don't know? >> So I have to say I think I was as. surprised as anybody else. Honestly. So.

how it happened was as I grew up in. Kansas, uh went to school at Kansas State, then. I went to a design school in Texas, and. then I moved to California. I ended up. being a regional manager for Kmart. >> Oh, yeah, dude. >> And I wasn't my favorite job, and then I. ended up working at Fluor Engineers and. Constructors. So I was raised by an. engineer. It was kind of fun for me. I. like to create things, etc., etc. Even.

though everybody always told me I. couldn't do anything, you know, with the. dyslexia. >> Oh, yeah. >> So but I always pushed against that. So. I'm one that pushes against these. things. >> So out of the gate that dyslexia might. have gave you that edge like I can still. do it. >> I was born Don't put me in a box cuz I. will get out and I will kick and scream. the whole way there. So. >> Amen. >> I That's one of my traits. I'm like, "Yeah, no, I don't want None of us like. it. I don't like being labeled. I don't.

like being judged. I don't like being. put in a box. It's. >> Almost like mimes like it. >> Mimes like off. I mean, that's just my. motto. So but I don't like being. labeled. >> [ __ ] off. >> Yeah, that's a good motto. >> Yeah, [ __ ] you. [ __ ] off. >> [laughter]. >> That's the best motto. That's what That. should our national anthem in this in. this [ __ ] country, to be honest with. you. Okay. >> So, but I'm an F-dropper bomb, so I hope. that doesn't offend anybody. >> Yeah, we'll pick them up at the end of. the show. Um okay, so you got you got. the dyslexia, you got the spirit, you.

got what you need. >> So, I go through all this process. I end. up getting married. That was the biggest. mistake of my life, three times over, and had children, and got in a car wreck. in Reno, Nevada, and moved down to. California, met an attorney by the name. of Jim Vititoe, who was Ed Masry's. partner. So, Ed Masry was the attorney. in the film. And we had a trial, and I lost. The jury. told me to get a job. >> You had a trial for what? Oh, for the.

auto accident? >> the auto accident. >> Okay, got it. >> And we lost. And of course, you know, the lawyers told me we're going to win. all kinds of money and make this right. by you, Erin. That did not happen. So, I went back to Ed Masry, and I said, "You promised me things would be okay, and they weren't, and I need a job.". >> Yeah. >> So, Ed gave me a job. So, in the. beginning of the film Erin Brockovich, you'll see her doing all these. interviews. And of course, I'd been a single mom, and I was turned down for every job, but.

I but I had I had Ed cornered. You. promised me something, and I showed up. >> PATTY. >> It's that power of stick-to-itiveness. that I talk about. >> show up, things are different. >> Right. And see, that's something, and. we'll get into that in a minute. I don't. want to jump ahead of it, but that's. what's going on right now out in this. country. People are showing up. >> Amen. >> And I love it, because I'm watching it. We all are, especially with the data. centers. We're united, bipartisan, and when we.

get united, we change things. >> Things can happen. >> And I love it. >> Amen. I love I love that. >> That's what happened. I showed up with. Ed. I ended up getting a job uh starting. in the workers' compensation department. I like people. I'm a people person. I'm. a chatty person. I want to know about. you, what's going on your life. That. seems odd, so I was a perfect fit in the. workers' compensation department. So, one day Ed came into the office just.

like you see in the film with a big. archive box of files. >> Got it. In the movie is Erin Brockovich. for people that haven't seen it, you can. go watch it. It's. um. >> Starring Julia Roberts. >> Starring Julia Roberts. >> Finney. >> and Albert Finney. Oh. >> Yes. >> Great actors. >> Known for her great push-up bra. >> Yeah, I look. You know, I'd hold them in. place. You know what I'm saying? No, I. mean [laughter]. >> So, >> I'd donate my hands [clears throat] to. Hanes or whoever made that thing and let. them just. you know, I'd be the wiring in that. thing, baby. Anyway, let's move on. >> when the film came out. I'm like, that's.

what you got out of the film was the. push-up bra, not what happened to the. people? >> [laughter]. >> So, >> You got a bait and you got to get them. on the hook. >> You do. So, they were on the hook, but. >> So, you're working in workmen's comp? >> So, I was working in workers' comp and. then Ed brought a box in to me that was. a PI case, personal injury case. And he. said, "Do you know how to open a. personal injury file?" I had not a clue. what I was doing, but I said, "Sure, I. know how to open it." So, when I started. to go through the file, I'm like, "Okay,

so I've now put myself out here. I don't. know what I'm doing. I better learn what. I'm doing.". >> Got it. >> I started reading the files. Inside this. file box were medical records. >> Okay, so and it's just one of the files. that's like in the box? >> Yeah, it was just everything about a. personal injury case was thrown in a. box. And what kind of made me go, "Well, that's odd." is there were real estate. records in there. I'm like, "Why are. real estate records and medical files in. the same box?". >> Yeah. >> And the reason for that was to jump.

ahead and I'll go right back. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Pacific. Gas and Electric was a utility company. trying to buy Roberta Walker's property. >> Okay, and Roberta Walker was one of the. >> plaintiffs. >> One of the plaintiffs. >> Right. >> And so, she had contacted Ed because. PG&E was trying to buy her house. And so, she just threw everything into a. box. As a matter of fact, Roberta kept. everything in a suitcase. So, it all.

just got thrown in the box. So, I like, you know, I like a challenge, so. I'm pulling everything out of the box, making my little piles, but I was. curious about the medical records. >> Yeah. >> because they were of children. >> Mhm. >> And all everything was done in a bar. graph. So, all their T-cells were off. Their white cells were off. Their red. counts were too high. Now, I'm a mom, and I'm thinking to myself, God, if I. saw blood tests like this on my kids, I. would What the [ __ ] is this? >> You'd be spooked.

>> Yeah. And so, I started researching it. more, and it was leading me to cancer. and diseases. So, I asked Ed if I could go out to. Hinkley, California, which he was. thrilled to let me go. Nobody in the. office liked me. I annoyed everybody. My. skirts were too short. My attitude. sucked. My bras were showing, and nobody. wanted me around. So, I was like, "Score! Get out of here and go.".

>> That's [clears throat and laughter]. classic. >> So, off I went to Hinkley, California. >> And the reason why so just to get to get. a little bit clearer, so in this box, in. this. um. this woman had hired the attorney for. what purpose? >> To settle a real estate claim. >> Okay. So, that's why the initial hiring. was there, but then there was all these. other records in there. Why was uh. Pacific and Gas trying to buy her house? >> Because Roberta was onto something, and.

they had water issues. and PG&E was holding these town hall. meetings. trying to convince everybody that there. was nothing wrong with the water. Now, I'll tell you something I've. learned. ever since I began Hinkley. You piss off one mom and you pissed off. Roberta. And they've got great instincts and they.

think you're lying to them, they're. going to go find 10 other [ __ ] pissed. off moms and they're going to. actually use these instincts and they. will come at you. And so these moms were. getting upset. >> Hell yeah. >> And they knew it was just that moment. >> It's time for moms to get upset. >> Oh, yeah. And they've got this hunch, this instinct, this intuition and they. make it their job to find out because. you're you've harmed their child.

>> Yeah. >> And they don't believe you. And so that. was the first. clue for me even in the files talking to. Roberta on the phone before I ever met. her. Something was going on and you. know, I have learned I always. listen and believe the people. And and people will show up but somebody. else tells them and and when I first. even started my work in Hinkley, I was. getting the you're not a doctor. You're not a lawyer. You're not a.

scientist. You're not a politician. Like. so what are you doing why are you here. and why should we believe you? And I had a moment where I was. gobsmacked. I'm like. it never dawned on me that I had to be. any of that. >> Right. All you have to be really is just. a curious batty. >> Absolutely. And to be a human and to. tell you those two-headed frogs in the. green water coming out of your tap is. [ __ ] up and I'm not leaving. That's what happened. >> I'm not leaving until these frogs have.

one head again. >> So, if you all think that's normal, I'm. sorry. You call me crazy. >> Dude, and there's so much of that gas. and like you see that all the time even. just like about podcasters talking with. people like, "You're not a um. politician. You're not like a um. >> Right. >> science uh sciencer. You're not a uh. astronomer or whatever.". >> Cuz you're none of those. >> And I'm like, "Bitch, but I'm [ __ ]. curious and I'm [ __ ] loud. >> That's right. >> How about that? >> Absolutely. And you know what? Curiosity's a good thing. >> Yeah. >> It can oftentimes get you in trouble,

but sometimes it's quite surprising. where it might lead you. >> Well, it just I don't know it's not. Things should be fair. But I think if. things are fair, people can operate from. a place of comfort, of peace, and a. place that gives them more autonomy. >> Yeah. >> If things are fair, like I know that. there's going to be like setbacks in. life and some people aren't going to. have the same advantages disadva- and. people going to have disadvantages and. stuff like that and some people are. going to be born in a less like. circumstances, but overall, if you could. I don't know. And I guess and I I I guess things are.

never fair, but it's like I don't know. That's something I think that a lot of. people will try and fight for is things. should be fair. You should be able to. You should be able to raise your kids in. a healthy enough environment, you know? Um. >> You know, that's a great word, fair. And. in Hinkley, what I have learned over 30. years is people and communities. always handle the truth. They won't. handle the lie. >> Mhm. >> That lie is unfair. And when they're not.

told the truth, it's unfair that they. have to suck up the consequences of that. lie. So, fair is an interesting word. Um and they. were being treated unfairly. >> Unfairly. Yeah, well, there's a lot of. transparency issues now and we're going. to get into some of that in a bit, but. I'm All right, so you get out to. Hinkley, California and what's popping. out there? >> So, all the trees are dying. I'm out there. First of all, I'm. when I'm boots on the ground and that's. what I like to do.

I'm out there generally barefoot. I feel things. I connect to nature. The moment I was there, I could feel. something was wrong. You can just feel. it. We're energy. Water's energy. An. environment that's damaged, it's energy. >> Yeah. >> But the trees were dead. The cows were. covered in tumors. People were reporting. really bizarre things to me. They. themselves had, you know, these chronic. headaches, skin rashes, constant. nosebleeds. >> Yeah. >> The fish had, you know, tumors on their.

body. The frogs had two heads and the. water was green. >> Are you serious? >> I'm serious. >> The frogs had two heads. >> Two heads. >> Bring up one of them. Well, two of them. You got a two-headed frog on there? >> Yeah. Hey, you want to see this. two-headed frog? That's a lot of. pedophiles used to have stuff on. >> Yeah. >> Like that. You're [laughter] like, "Oh, hold on.". >> You can see like So, there's other. chemicals that can cause frogs to have. two heads. >> Oh my god, look at the second one. That. one is.

>> They had two heads. >> That one has dyslexia. Look at that one. >> [laughter]. >> Well, you know, I could believe that. because definitely I've been told before. you have two heads. >> Sorry to laugh at my own joke, but I. thought that was. >> brains colliding together. >> That was pretty good, I thought, based. on the looks of that one. If you can't. see. >> stunning and I'm from Kansas. I don't. see this [ __ ] in Kansas. >> Right. Well, that's probably because the. nature was a little bit more like I. mean, if you're heading out to If you're. heading out to California, it's a place. where there's a lot more probably. industry going on and things could be a. little bit more damaged, you know,

because there's But in in Kansas, you're. probably coming from a purer. environment, I'm guessing. >> And also, dude, I remember a time in our. town like people couldn't whistle for. like 2 months or something and maybe it. was something in the air or something. was going on. You know, we had a long. What's it called when the moon and the. sun cross each other? >> Eclipse? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> We had an eclipse one time. I thought I. swear that thing lasted probably 3 days. over there and people couldn't whistle. Um you couldn't hail a taxi for. probably, you know, for half a week over. there. >> I've been down in Louisiana. I spent six. eight weeks down there on the down in.

the bayou with the whole BP oil spill. >> Oh, did you really? Well, we'll get into some of that. Um okay, so. you get out to Hinkley, you're seeing. all these things going on. >> by the time I finally got Ed to go out. there with me, he did not know who PG&E. was. So we're driving along and he goes, "Okay, so kid, let's go over this." And. I've seen all the stuff you've brought. back. PG&E is a water utility. I'm like, "What?" He goes, "Yeah." I go, "Ed, I'm. from Kansas and I know who PG&E is. They're a ginormous utility." He's like,

"What?" So that's how the whole thing. began. And so it was through my record. search at the water board. >> Mhm. >> that's when I started discovering in. writing. reports that the area was contaminated. with a chemical. known as hexavalent. chromium. >> Wow. Bring it up. Let me see it right there. Hinkley groundwater contamination, uh PG&E, Pacific Gas and Electric used.

chromium 6 or hexavalent chromium, a. cheap and efficient rust suppressor. >> Correct. >> in its compressor station for natural. gas transmission pipelines. Hexavalent. chromium compounds are genotoxic. carcinogens. What does that mean, genotoxic? >> mutagenic. They can affect the the. genes. >> And and they can be passed on? >> Correct. >> Oh my gosh. >> And you can see trisomy 7 and different. um. diseases like that in the children. See,

and I was seeing a pattern of. nasopharyngeal cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer. >> Got it. >> So as I started we could at this point. getting a year into it, Ed can clearly. see what's going on. Now, what had. happened with PG&E was, again, as I said. earlier, they were holding like these. town hall meetings, and they were. telling everybody, and again, talk about. unfair, >> Mhm. >> they were telling everybody that it was.

chromium in their water, which is a. natural element, and it's good for you. You can find it in your breakfast. cereal. >> Wow. >> They weren't telling him that it was. hexavalent chromium, and it was a. poison. >> Damn. >> And so, as all this data started getting. put together, and I put together what's. a call I call a hot doc book. >> Mhm. >> So, as a dyslexic, I'm here, and I don't. take numbers in the environment like 5. ppm,

and calculate forward. I always. calculate backwards. And I needed to go. find those higher numbers in time to. prove what they had been exposed to over. 20, 30 years. >> Wow. >> So, as I started getting into my record. searches, I create these hot doc books, which is like almost a trial notebook, which I'm just doing instinctually, cuz. I'm just trying to put the pieces. together myself. >> Yes. >> Wow. >> Yes. >> And what by doing that, you're putting. together a great case. >> Yeah, unbeknownst to me.

>> Got it. >> And, you know, I was just out there. every day in my life was like, "Nah, this doesn't make sense to me." And this. was a huge cover-up. And this is where I've said, you know, people would have dealt with the truth. Hey, "We need to get you out of here. We're. poisoning you." But it was the lie that. becomes so insidious that you just drag. them through that. But once Ed realized. this was a lawsuit, he had to go hire a.

couple more attorneys because he was. about broke, borrowing money against his. house to keep things going. >> Wow, so he started to believe in it that. much? >> That much. >> Wow. >> Yeah, and so he found two other law. firms that was Engstrom, Lipscomb, and. Lack um was the head attorneys there. And um. we had a lawsuit and we had 634. plaintiffs and it was filed as a direct. action, not a class action.

Because in a direct action, everybody's. damages were different. Some people were. closer to the PG&E facility where they. had higher readings in their wells, some. were further away where we couldn't. prove that the plume had gone through. yet, so we filed a direct action. >> Mhm. And just to go back real quick that the. the the hexa. >> Hexavalent. >> Hexavalent chromium, what was it in. there It was in there to prevent rust. from. from the pipes from rusting?

>> It's an anti-rust inhibitor. So um it. was a gas compressor facility, so. actually there was other cases that I. went backtracked and found later, but. from Topock, California, they're pushing. and pulling natural gas out of Texas. >> Understood. >> And then it would go from Topock, California to Barstow and then in. Barstow it would get pushed and pulled. up to Kettleman. And so the Think of it. like the engine of your car. And these. facilities are big huge piston engines. pushing and pulling this gas through.

And so they have to run water through. the system so it doesn't seize to. operate. >> Wow. >> And these chemicals have, like chromium. 6 is an anti-rust inhibitor because if. you don't have it, rust will corrode the. pipes, right? And then they would take. all the used. water through the system and dump it. into unlined. ponds. >> So it goes right back into the soil? >> Right back into the aquifer.

>> right back into the what in the what? >> Aqua for the water zone. >> Yeah. And uh and now I see how this the. data centers came on your radar because. that's sort of the same thing. They're. using this they there's a similar thing. that kind of happens is they use so much. water to cool off what's going on. So I. just I now I kind of correlate like, okay, this makes perfect sense why her. involvement, right? >> whole lot of things about data centers. and I know we'll get there. I'll stay on. your pace that set me off and that that. was one of them.

>> Yeah, and we will. We're we're almost. we're almost to data centers. Um. But what what was what was one of the. toughest parts about going after a. company that big? Like did you start to. get scared? Did you personally get. scared? Was there times you were laying. in bed at night and be like, they. somebody might try to take you out? Like. how heavy did it get really? >> People brought that up and I. I didn't kind of go there until one day. um I was stealing. toxic hazardous waste off site.

>> You were stealing it? >> Yeah. >> Oh, you were pulling up somewhere that. had it. >> Oh, I'm a bad guy. I'm stealing the. toxic hazardous waste. Okay. >> To just. >> But I was. >> evidence. >> Yes. >> Got it. >> Okay, so I'm sorry I stole your. two-headed frog and a bunch of green. [ __ ] soil. Sue me. So PG&E called the cops and I was going. to get arrested. I'm standing with my. two-headed frog in my little file, you. know, my little. what do you call it? Igloo?

Cuz I knew to keep things cool. I had my. chain of custody writing everything. down. >> had one in an igloo? >> Yeah. >> Wow. >> So. I I'm like, are you arresting me? I. said, can I at least call my attorney? So I called Ed. Ed goes, wait a minute. You're going to arrest her for what? And. they're they're telling him. He goes, you know what? >> Let him. >> Do it. >> [clears throat]. >> And I'm going, what the [ __ ]. >> Kid, it's [laughter] on file. >> What the [ __ ] Ed? Anyway, he said, "You.

do it. You do it because it's going to. be headline news. That I want you to. arrest this girl for what? Stealing. two-headed frogs from a polluted site? Do it.". And they let me go. And I called Ed and. I'm going like, "Were you really going. to have me arrested?" He goes, "Oh, hell. yeah. I would have you out in 5 minutes. So, kiddo, don't worry about. >> Wow. >> God. >> What a journey. >> So. >> And how did he work afterwards with the. plaintiff? So, you the the plaintiffs. there was over $330 million awarded and.

that was divided up between the. different families at certain amounts, etc. >> Yeah. So, done as a direct action. So, people who live way out from a plume. boundary. received awards for fear of cancer. versus the people that lived there 35. years right next to the facility that. were exposed to high levels that had. cancer. And so, the the judges made all. those rulings based on the facts.

surrounding their particular case. >> Oh. [sighs]. Wow, that's pretty amazing. What a journey, huh? Did you know at the time that it was. going to become such a big thing? You. did You had no idea? >> No. >> Wow. >> None. It was just one of those moments. for me that. this. it just didn't make sense to me and it. just wasn't right and I felt bad for the. people. And listen, they became my. family. I mean, half of the group up. there helped potty train my youngest. daughter, Elizabeth.

>> Aw. >> And and I love them and it just didn't. make sense. >> Yeah. I've lived around a bad rooster. And it's it can be a lot. The rooster's. his brain isn't organized with the sun. or whatever. He'll be. doodle-doing at dang 3:00 a.m. or. whatever. You're up making eggs. You. don't you know. You're 5 hours early to work. It you. know, if you're a rooster that just does. its own thing a lang, baby, that's a. power move. And checking out Morgan &. Morgan, that's a power move also. Morgan.

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Visit modiphy.com. /theo. That's m o d i p h y .com/theo. for 50% off. The last website you'll. ever need. That's modify.com/theo. >> I think a lot of us are in that place. right now where it's like, yes, something just just doesn't make sense. And what do we do? And how do we do it?

Um. >> Well, you know, and. Roberta faced that and I will share with. you in every environmental case that I. work with, it generally is a mom that. knows something's up but isn't sure. what's up. But what frustrates these. mothers is when they do show up, whether. it be somebody at the state or a. politician or a leader that they need. information from our city council, they're suppressed. They get the oh, you're hysterical mother, there's. nothing really going on and so they.

retreat and they feel defeated. >> Mhm. >> So, that suppression is something that. happens at the very beginning. And then. then when that mom gets another mom, then they're like, you I don't try to. suppress me because I know something's. wrong and again, we're going to go back. to I don't have to have I don't have to. have the degree or be qualified. to sit on your city council board and. I'm an idiot that they come back in. armed with information.

>> And so, that's generally what I do. They're usually right, but I can go find. stuff that I can arm them with. Here's. what you need. Here's what's going on. This is what's a fact. And then they. join forces with the other mothers and. they become unbelievably formidable. >> Do you believe that mothers still have. as much power now as they did like at. the time like of of when this story. started for you? >> Yes. You know, I've seen it throughout. in Flint, Michigan. The whole lead crisis. Even down in the.

BP oil spill. I'm scared of some of those mothers. I'm. like, have when you see you go in there. and talk to her. I'm like, no, that one. scares me. You go in there and talk to. her because they know. And they don't want to hear it anymore. So. but I'm seeing them come back and I'm. going to jump ahead and then I'll stop. just so you'll have it in your memory, too. They're the ones showing up on the data. centers. >> Well, one of the things that. put you on my radar, I mean obviously I. knew of you, but what put you on my. radar was you wrote an article. It was.

like if data centers aren't so bad, why. are they building them in secrecy, I. think. >> Correct. Everything begins with that. secret even Henley, California. >> Amen. Well, what hit me about it, yeah, if data centers are so great, why are. they being built in secret? >> in Substack. The Brokovich report. >> And you talked about the biggest one, which is built in Louisiana. in the flatlands, it says right here in. the flatlands of northeast Louisiana. known for soybean fields. and dense clusters of river cane. Meta.

is building a 4 million square foot AI. campus called Hyperion. When finished, it will consume more electricity than. the entire city of New Orleans and cover. a footprint the size of lower Manhattan. And then it says here Meta's investment. establishes the region as an anchor in. Louisiana's rapidly expanding tech. sector, revitalizes one of our state's. beautiful rural areas and creates. opportunities for Louisiana workers to. fill high-paying jobs of the future, said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry in a.

press statement. I thank Meta for their. commitment to our state. And what shocked me here though was. a resident of Holly Ridge, an. unincorporated community in Richland. Richland Parish, said she found out about the data center. the way everyone else in her community. did when they started digging. >> Correct. >> And I was like, oh, she says, "Nobody. told us anything.". They supposedly had a big meeting, the. whole community was supposed to come. Nobody knew anything about it ever.

But how did data centers come onto your. radar? >> [snorts]. >> So, I woke up one morning and I had 30. emails, 30 individual emails from the. same community regarding the same issue, data centers. So, having done this for. 30 years now, anytime I get a cluster of. emails, that's a sign. And then I was like, data centers. It. was almost a moment like in Hinkley, California. Hexavalent chromium, what is. that? Data centers, what's going on with. data centers? That I started looking. into it.

And. things, I don't know. My questions weren't being answered. about data centers. So, what I do is I. like to see the big picture. And I like. to create maps. So, I created what's. called brockovichdatacenter.com. where people, if they were having issues. with data centers in their backyard, could self-report. And I've created. self-reporting registry databases.

before. Think about it, we have no place. where we can self-report. Everything. that we report goes through an agency. Even in Hinkley, California, and it got. stuck up in the California health. department. Nobody ever knew. >> And so many agencies are compromised. anyway now, so why not create our own? This is amazing. >> And this is a place where people who I. believe that are living, breathing, and. experiencing these issues are the best. source of information. So, what I thought when I put this map.

out here, in the first 72 hours, the map. crashed twice. And I woke up on day three going, "Oh my. god. It's not one town. and one aquifer and one data center. It's the entire country.". >> Wow. >> We've talked about Louisiana, from the. Midwest. Now, the next thing that I. noticed, cuz each one of these people in. their submission, it wasn't this one town reporting the.

same thing. It's the whole country. They had no idea. They had no idea. They. woke up to this construction. We weren't. informed. City Council didn't tell us. anything. We're completely in the dark. Because these big tech groups came in. and put these city council members. members under a non-disclosure. >> Oh, is that what you're. >> Correct. In every state. In every state. Every city, every town. reporting to me, we knew nothing.

Non-disclosure agreements. >> saw a video the other day. See if you. can find that, Trevin. It's a woman at a. city council meeting from Oh, here I see. it. So it says right here, "A resident. of Tyrone Township, Michigan confronted. local officials with a simple question, have you signed an NDA with any private. party regarding developments that could. affect the township?" Yeah, this was the. clip that I saw. Can we play it? >> Have you personally signed any NDA, any. agreement, or had any private. communication such as meetings, phone.

calls, text messages, or emails with any. developer, company, landowner, or. representative regarding any current or. potential project that could affect. Tyrone Township? Chris Rupprecht. >> Uh no. >> Dean? >> No. >> Jennifer? >> I'm not answering your question. This is. not the time or place. >> It is I can ask you whatever I want. Don't tell me what I can say. >> have to answer you. >> But you're communicating with me, Jennifer. I didn't think you were. supposed to do that. Rick Carns, how about you? Yes or no? >> Not the place.

We've already discussed this. So. >> Who Who's already discussed it? I'm. sorry. Who's already discussed it? >> discussed. >> Who has? Who's discussed it? I've not discussed. this with you. What are you saying? Pam Lofler, yes or no? >> Wow, [snorts] Pam. Letting me down. >> You work for us. >> That's right. Herman Ferguson? >> Oh, yeah. Herman boy.

>> Won't answer? Is that Tucker? >> Mike, stop. You say guilty one more. time, you're up. >> Wow. >> I'm not tolerating. >> I and I love that. >> this is what I love. This woman, this. mother, this Listen, I just become their. biggest cheerleader. You know, this is. not my story. Hinckley wasn't my story. It was their story. This is their story, and it becomes all of our stories. And I. I love watching moments like that. >> Yeah, oh no. I think this is great. I.

like vigilante stuff. I like somebody. who's just. like in that moment where it's. uncomfortable, but you still speak. You. speak through that uncomfort, that. nervousness, you know, like whatever it. is. Like you're trying to speak to power. and say, "Well, this is what this feels. like from here." Um. how are these big companies able to. compromise? Um and I'm not sure that. these people are compromised. We don't. know, right? But it's interesting what. uh the conversation she's establishing. here. It's interesting some of their. answers, for sure.

Uh but how are some of these tech. companies or any companies able to. compromise some of these um. like smaller area council members, et. cetera, do you think? >> So, these small rural council members, you know, they don't have a lot of. funding. And these big. companies are coming in, and they're. talking $10 billion. And these council. members. And these council members are very lured. by that because, you know, they want to. have infrastructure and things like that.

in their own backyard. And they were. kind of misled, but to sign a. non-disclosure agreement probably didn't. seem like a big deal to them to for a. big exchange to the city council and to. the community. to make all this money to build this. center. And then they're lured into. thinking it's going to create jobs and. long-term economic gain when that's. actually not what's happening, but. that's the hook. >> Do you think a lot of them are actually.

So, do you think a lot of the council. people actually lied to as well? Like. it's a. >> Well, apparently they aren't asking a. whole lot of questions about data. centers and they're just more. lured by the money and that's the thing. that really fascinated me with the. self-reporting map because unbeknownst. to all these other communities in. different states across the country, they're reporting the exact same thing. It I'm baffled. You're talking all of. our city councils at talk because I tell.

people go local. >> Yeah. >> And if this is a situation in building. data centers, you've got to go local cuz. you need the permitting and the zoning. >> Mhm. >> And [clears throat] they're they're. lured into this, but that every city. council across the United States of. America. was that lured by money because these. facilities are going in every state, multiple counties and cities across the. entire country. >> So, that was a lot of the reporting you. were getting, the self-reporting from. people where that. >> thing that made them mad. >> That we didn't know it. Nobody knew.

>> Didn't know. >> But how are these companies able to do. without people knowing? Like because. isn't there like aren't there laws where. you have to like. where you have to say, "Okay, this is. something that's being planned in our. city or in our town." And then people. are allowed to come. Or did you notice. some sort of pattern where they're able. to. manipulate that um. >> A lot of people are reporting that they. thought they were building a warehouse. >> Ah. >> And so, construction begins and they. thought it was a warehouse or we're here.

putting in a solar farm or some other. reason, "Hey, we're going to build this. out because it's great economic base for. our community.". >> Mhm. >> But as it starts to go from. non-disclosure, so we start at proposal like that woman. was in proposal phase. And she was. pushing back then, but they wouldn't. answer her, probably because they'd. already signed the non-disclosure, and. they were getting ready to go into the. next phase, construction phase. And it's.

during a construction phase that people. are like, "Whoa, wait a minute. You're destroying the land. You're cutting down all the trees.". >> people notice it. >> Yeah. They're like, "What's happening?". >> Agreed. I mean, I I think that's what. the same thing has happened here even. locally in Nashville. It's like that's. when it started like like it wasn't in. the beginning phase where people even. knew what was going on. It's almost like. in the too late phase. Um that's what I'm noticing. Let me look. at this. Spartanburg County data center.

lawsuit. Residents say 2.8. billion-dollar project was wrong. >> There you go. >> Was wrongly classified as minor. development. Um a group of residents uh suing. Spartanburg County and Valera Holdings. LLC, the company behind a nearly 3. billion-dollar data center under. construction along South Pine Street. Uh. public records show Valara submitted an. application to redevelop about 905,000. sq ft of the former Kohler industrial. plant as a minor land development. The.

county approved it. Weeks later, the. company submitted a second application. for phase two improvements, including. four proposed buildings totaling about. 494,000 sq ft, along with a power yard, internal roadways, electrical equipment, a metering station, mechanical cooling. systems, and stormwater ponds. The. application also was approved as a minor. land development. The an attorney said. uh they also broke it into two parts. First, they did a smaller application, which was still a big development, and. called that minor. So,

they're saying that they classified it. as minor, and obviously that doesn't. sound very minor. >> Um. >> No. And this is This is happening. everywhere. First of all, I love how you. pull stuff like that. You and me could. work on this [ __ ] together. >> Really? >> saying, we could be trouble. >> Really? What would I do? Do I have to go. to court? I can be Atticus Finch. I'll be his son. >> You You'll do the. >> Ricky Finch. >> You'll steal the two-headed frogs with. me. >> [laughter]. >> I'll put them in that in that uh. >> We'll get this all put in an order that.

everyone understands. >> That'd be great. >> one of them in that frog jumping uh. contest that's over there in Louisiana. What What parish is that in over there? Rain over there. The rain frog festival. Now, that two-headed frog, he's a little. top-heavy. >> Yeah, he is a little top-heavy. Might. not win. But, going back, you know, it's. so great to You kind of. to understand what is uh the the future, you got to go back in time. So, to. understand these things, you going right.

back in time. That's very dyslexic. >> Yeah. Oh, it's dyslexic thinking. Yeah, that's what we're doing here. >> But, to your point about the NDAs, they're they're like using shell. companies, uh the city council's. rezoning, doing different permits for minor. changes or a warehouse that they're just. expanding on. So, they're telling you. the truth, but not the whole truth. >> How do we force these companies to be. more transparent? Like, what Is there. What can we do?

>> Well, that's. that's a very big question because. they have all the money in the world. And for smaller communities and city. council, um I don't know, maybe they're. gullible, but it's pretty hard to turn. it down. And I think. the big companies The I think the. responsibility is on them. By way of. example, Microsoft has just now. announced they're removing all the NDAs.

They now realize. this was a bad way to approach it. But, they That is incumbent upon them. They. know damn good and well what they're. doing, but they're they're the ones that. are not transparent. >> You're talking about the NDAs regarding. the data centers. >> about the big companies. They're the. ones that are not being transparent. And then they they mislead possibly all. these council members. >> Understood, yeah. >> council members at some point know their. tits in a ringer because.

they had a not NDA. So now their. constituents are like, "Did you know Did. you sign an NDA?" Well, "I signed an NDA. I'm not going to tell. you I signed an NDA." Now they realize. they're in a little quagmire and maybe. now they realize they're being lied to. But it's amazing that these big. companies You're talking the biggest. companies in the world. >> For sure. I mean, we're talking. Microsoft right here. I mean, it's. >> invaded like the entire United States. and all of our city councils. >> Well, it's all so organized at such. deeper dark.

>> Absolutely. >> at deeper, darker levels. I want to go. on two things real quick. For one, and. this is just a thought something I. thought of. It's funny if you sign an. NDA, if somebody asks you, you can It's. like you kind of all you can do is kind. of like you're like. uh duh. uh you can kind of only make the letters. NDA, like you can kind of make those. sounds like uh duh. uh. >> There you go. >> So So anyway, I just thought that was. interesting. Yeah. >> There you go. We can make a song out of. that for NDAs. [laughter]. >> But I want Sorry, and that was just.

ridiculous, I think. But it says right. here in January, Microsoft announced our. community first AI infrastructure plan. outlining our commitments to the. communities where we operate or are. seeking to operate data centers. As part. of that announcement, we called for. greater degree of local transparency. Today we're sharing that Microsoft has. made the decision to end the use of. non-disclosure agreements. >> everywhere. >> with local governments as a next step in. our work to deliver that transparency. We're committed to sharing information. about our data center plans as openly as. possible as we continue to build trust.

with the communities around the world in. which we operate. But do you think that. they did this. after they already had everything done. that they wanted, or do you think that. they realized, "Oh, this is backfiring, and so we have to backtrack and do it. like this?". >> they tried to get away with it, just. like PG&E did. >> Does that question make sense? Okay. Okay. >> So, they don't learn. Sometimes they. don't learn. Transparency, you know, just [ __ ] say it on the upfront. And. this is what I've learned, people will. handle that truth. They won't handle the. lie. So, I think Microsoft realized what.

they were not expecting, and what. nobody, in my opinion, was expecting, was the backlash from the people. >> Amen. >> And I don't know where that glitch was, but they're like, uh, I don't think so. So, that's where they. came back in, and you better correct that before you. find yourself in some huge. litigation. >> Amen. >> And these litigations, and when you're. talking about something like this, and. like, even in California, you know,

we've gone from the water to the fires, they're not settling for $333 million. They're settling for $38 billion. So, Microsoft. I think tried to. tried to get those NDAs through, and. then. did not expect the backlash from the. people. >> Amen. >> So, we the people, once again, changed. the course of direction. >> Yeah. Amen. Um, I want to go back to Can you bring. up her uh Substack again? And thank you.

for your time today. >> Thanks for having me. It's And thanks. for, you know, this is great. You've got so many. followers, and it's something that they. can learn, too, and it's probably. happening in their own backyard, and. that you're taking the time to. walk through this. I love it. Thank you. >> Um, well, you're welcome. You're. welcome. Um, oh, uh one of the the. things here that I In this article, it. says this was uh Governor uh Jeff. Landry, and shout out Louisiana. Uh that's my. home state. I love it. Um, And it says Meta's investment.

establishes the region as an anchor in. Louisiana's rapidly expanding tech. sector, revitalizes one of our state's. beautiful rural areas, and creates. opportunities for Louisiana workers to. fill high-paying jobs of the future. Um. do you know what jobs are actually. created by data centers? Because I've. heard a lot of like mixed results on. that. Um and Trevin, if you can look up. anything as well. But Aaron Aaron, what. what do you what do you know about that? >> Construction jobs, electricians,

plumbers, construction jobs. And. they're they're lured into, you know, the economy hasn't been the best. I. think people are concerned about having. jobs in the future. You know, we have. the whole AI conversation that they're. saying there's going to eliminate all. the jobs. So these are opportunities. for, you know, our industrial workers, plumbers, and electricians, and. masonries, and all of those construction. jobs are available. And it's a good, you. know, one to possibly two-year job. But.

what they're learning is. that's all it is. >> Yeah, but yeah that as you're saying. that it reminds me of Dr. Frankenstein. It's like to be building the thing. that's going to hypothetically take you. over. You know what I'm saying? To be. building the. to sit there and hammer you say building. a data center that you think may poison. your kids or that may damage the air or. that you know like or that could be the. thing that takes your job. That's. >> Yeah. >> I mean it's almost it's like it's like.

being trapped in a sci-fi movie. >> It is. And then once that process starts. and now you're taking all the trees and. all the wildlife and everything away. from us, you're you're talking. They needed a job. And but it's not. going to be a long-term gain for the. community, especially if you are a. community, even like down in Louisiana, that relies on tourism to get down in. the bayous and in the waters and to hunt.

and recreation when you [ __ ]. destroyed it all. Where's your economic. base now? >> Well, it's not the people's fault. though. >> No. >> The people like if a man is I have to. work to survive to take care of my kids. >> Absolutely. And they're they're. supposedly good paying jobs and they're. long-term jobs. And so that's that's the. the socio-economic thing that that hooks. them. >> But they're long-term until it's built. Let me see this. >> And then there's no more jobs. >> centers are essentially giant. collections of computer servers. They. typically take up massive spaces and use.

huge amounts of power and water, but. they employ very few people. Uh Meta's newest data center will. ultimately create just 500 permanent. jobs, though employment will briefly. swell to about 5,000 during. construction. Nonetheless, Meta found. itself with no shortage of suitors. willing to meet its demands. We set out. looking for a place where we could. expand into gigawatts pretty quickly and. really get moving within that community. on a large plot of land very quickly, said Rachel Peterson, vice president of. data centers for Meta. We looked at.

finding very, very large contiguous. plots of land that had access to the. infrastructure that we need, the energy. that we need, and can move very, very. quickly for us. And I'll tell you what. else it had access to. I know, being. from Louisiana, water. >> Water. >> Because that's a wet state, baby. You. know what I'm saying, bro? You put Don't. even bro. Don't even I wouldn't even dry. off in Louisiana, bro, cuz you. >> You don't. >> Yeah, cuz you ain't going to work. And. dude, the crazy part is there's going to. be data and everything now. Now you out. there fishing, you catching a flounder.

or whatever, and they finding uh. gigabytes in its lungs or whatever. You know, you just don't know. And it's. affecting nature, it's affecting the. animals, bro. >> All of those resources will be destroyed. to build the data centers. >> I know. >> And so you know, this came in fast, furious, overnight. And. we're watching real time the rise of the. people. And I don't think they expected that. >> And you do believe that? >> Yep. I'm watching it happen everywhere.

>> You are? >> Yeah. And they're they're making change. You know, we now. >> Where are you seeing this Where are you. seeing this happen? Because I I I love. hearing this and it gives me hope cuz it. feels like. we're not standing a chance sometimes. >> Uh well, we've shown up in force and and. it's not one state, it's all states. We're showing up in a completely. bipartisan issue. There's no division. here. This is right and left, red and. blue. You're taking every resource that.

every single one of us thrives on and is. essential to every one of us and I don't. think they were expecting that. Maybe in. one town, one community, not all towns, not all towns. And you know, we are now, I believe, and you can look. this up, we've got 14 states now looking. at bans, moratoriums, or pauses. Blackstone, I believe you can look that.

up, just withdrew their big appellate. court lawsuit that because of the. opposition they said, "We're out.". Hallelujah. The people showed up and. they're out. And now we're looking at. over 120 municipalities that have put. on, "Hey, pause, moratorium, or flat out get out.". >> Let's go, Aaron. Aaron go bro. >> You can find out all day long over there. on your computer. >> Uh with no US state. >> That's power, people.

>> While no US state has an active. permanent statewide ban on data centers, lawmakers in at least 15 states are. actively considering or advancing. temporary moratoriums. These pauses. allow states to study the impact of. facilities on power grids and water. supplies. >> And then it is the cities like in. California, Monterey, Monterey Park. city banned them. >> Amen. >> Cities are banning them. So you got the. 14, 15 states, but inside those states,

state by state, county by county, ban, pause, moratorium. And you've got over. 120 municipalities. now under pauses, moratoriums, or bans. >> Let's check this right here. State level. legislative activity. Several states are. actively debating or have introduced. statewide moratorium legislation. A list. of those Maine lawmakers passed a. temporary construction moratorium. Uh but it was vetoed by Governor Janet. Mills. I just met Janet Mills last week.

>> Mhm. >> at the Billy Strings concert. What does. that mean it was vetoed? >> She said no. She's going to let the data. centers come in, but communities are. pushing back. So on my map, we're. showing legislative issues that have. failed or paused or on hold in the map. >> Bring Bring that up I'm sorry to. interrupt you. Bring that up real quick. I just want to give a Let me see. Yeah, Maine Governor Janet Mills um vetoed LD. 307, a bill that would have instituted. the nation's first statewide moratorium. on certain large-scale data center.

developments. While agreeing that a. pause was generally appropriate due to. energy and environmental concerns, she. vetoed the legislation because it failed. to carve out an exemption for a $550. million redevelopment project at the. former Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine. Um it says right here the Jay, Maine. exception. Mills favored allowing the. data center at the shuttered paper mill. in Jay to proceed, citing the potential. to create over 800 construction jobs, at. least 100 permanent high-paying. positions, and substantial property tax.

revenue for the town. Mhm. >> Yeah, no. She was originally supposed to. ban the data centers by the state, but. she came back in and said she wasn't. going to do that, but that's when she. made a change cuz a lot of them the. state's giving them all these tax. incentives. She took that away. >> Yeah, and it says here Governor Janet. Mills supports regulatory oversight for. large-scale data centers, but firmly. opposes blanket development bans that. could hard that could harm local.

economic revitalization. While she acknowledges the valid. environmental and great concerns. associated with massive tech facilities, her approach prioritizes a balanced. framework over a statewide moratorium. I. see. So, she's just trying to think of. it more of it as a case-by-case basis, I. guess. >> So, most states are now wanting to know. whoa, wait a minute. How much water are. you going to use? What does this entail? What does it mean for the safety and the. future of our environment? So, you are. seeing the pauses, moratoriums for 1 and.

2 years, and some communities like in. Texas, they just the the local county. flat-out banned them. You're not. building one in our county. So, in every. state you've got multiple cities and. counties. And they have their own. ordinances and rules, so they can stop. them. >> I see. So, it can be. >> But but the state may not. >> So, it can be stopped at different. levels. >> Yes, and you're seeing many counties. like Monterey Park is a city within. California. So, think of it as your. upper level state going down to cities,

going down to local councils, and. >> counties. They run in they have like a tier. >> Got it. Yeah. >> local can say [ __ ] you. >> But we're also seeing. >> But the state might not take that. position. >> Right, but we also saw I mean from the. beginning of this conversation we saw. that local. was a spot where people were getting. compromised a lot also. So, um Yeah, but there's different levels. where where you can have pushback. >> Oh, yeah, and they showed up at the. local level, and the opposition was.

significant. So, in Utah, in Box Elder County, and that's. been on the news a lot. >> Mhm. >> Uh it was um Kevin O'Leary was coming in. with a ginormous data center. And the. people showed up in protest, big time. >> Oh, I saw that. It was. >> three Box Elder County guys let it come. through anyway. So, the governor came back in because of. the opposition from the people. And.

reduce the Kevin O'Leary's facility. Um. the exact numbers I I don't quote me on. this, but almost cut it in half if not. three quarters. And. because of the opposition, he had to do. something. And then just recently, their. house speaker, the senator, >> Fox? >> Lost. Because of the whole opposition to. these data centers and all three council. members no longer.

out. So, >> Let's go. >> it's really interesting. And like. Festus, Missouri. You voted them in, vote them out. They voted all their. council out. So, this is like I think. something politicians should really be. looking at. The opposition is strong. enough. And again, in my entire career, in 30 years, I've never seen something. bipartisan this united that everybody. better be be paying attention to because. I think people you're pushing people too. far at this point. You're taking their.

water, their air is jeopardized, their land is. jeopardized, their farmland is. jeopardized, their sanctuary is. jeopardized, their wildlife is. jeopardized, the trees, the rivers, the. creeks, the birds, all of it is at. stake, too high, including their health. >> Yeah. >> And they're just showing up, and it's. enough. >> Amen. >> And I think some some of our leaders. should look at that, you know, they are. going to vote people out and.

you're you've put the squeeze on us. It's too much. You're you're taking all. of the natural resources and the next. thing that people are reporting, their. electric bills, who's paying for this? They are. >> Well, let's go into some of that. Are. you What information are you seeing. about that? And Trevor, while we discuss. this, can you look up. who voted to approve that. that data center in Louisiana? I want to. know. >> It's the local council. >> Who was it? >> It's going to be local council. >> Okay, a local council. I just want to. know the names of the of the people that.

voted yes on it. >> So, we are definitely seeing local. opposition winning, local. municipalities, counties, cities. >> Really? Like an example? >> Well, one of the a big one is the Prince. William Digital Gateway Data Center. project, huge by the way, and that was. Blackstone. And it was in the appellate courts, they've withdrawn. >> Okay. >> And the project is now dead because of. the opposition of the people. >> Wow, the court of appeals, it says right.

here, Prince William Digital Gateway. Data Center project officially dies. The. court of appeals affirmed on all. uh. an August 2025 decision um by William. Circuit Court Judge Kimberly in favor of. the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, 11 other Gainesville landowners. Uh. Okay, after a legal battle that lasted. more than 2 years, the controversial. Prince William Digital Gateway approved. 23 million square foot data center. complex planned on 2,100 acres near.

Manassas National Battlefield Park is. officially dead. That's incredible. Well, I You know. what? That's the thing that gets you to. >> That's the power of people. >> Yeah, I mean, it is the power of the. people, Erin. Well, that's what gets you. about Louisiana. It's like. our state is. it's all our state is all about nature. It's all about being able to fish out. there and. >> Water. Water, water. [clears throat]. >> Water. So, that's what they're there for. >> Absolutely. >> So, that's why the largest one in. America they want to do it there in. Louisiana. >> Yeah, can you pull up who who voted for. and against it? Um.

Okay, we have right here. Uh. They had Eric Skrmetta. This is for. Jean-Paul JP JP Coussan out of District. 2 year. And then we got Mike France is yeah, Mike France is Foster Campbell for sure, District 5. And then who they voted for. it and who voted against it? Devonte Lewis. Who who? That's wild, bro. Uh yeah, just curious, man. Just curious. Um.

>> So, I think what's happening A this this. has happened so fast. It was just like. everybody will tell you it felt like an. invasion. Just stealth bombers coming in. in the middle of the night. I agree. I agree. And they were just here. >> Agree. >> I think even council members were. quickly wooed, non-DAs, and are now. again stepping back and going, "Wait a. second. I need more information here. But at the onset, I think the thing. that's so frustrating for the people or.

or why I don't understand, you as city council members or any. legislative body or office, why do you. not listen to your constituents? >> Yeah. >> What sign is it that you're missing? It's not one showing up. It's a hundred. It's a thousand. And disregarding your. constituents'. opinions. >> What's so funny you say that? I think. it's interesting people get into.

positions of like power and like elected. positions, right? And they start. listening uphill. Like, "Oh, this is. where the better information's coming. from cuz this is how I get invited to. like a dinner party or you know, maybe. you get invited to eat a a box of a. croissants or something somewhere or. cut you off a beautiful sausage you. never had or something and that's your. ear starts to turn like oh well this is. where the true information comes from. >> No, the true information always comes. from the ground and the people up.

>> the roots, baby. That's where the roots. at. Hey, the roots. That's why they grow. that way. >> where it comes from. >> Out the mud. But I think it's interesting that you. say I didn't like of course Louisiana. because of the water. >> Water, water, water, water. >> Um what what let's get to some clarity. on the water issue and on nature. What. truth do we know and what information is. out there about. how data centers actually use water and. what effects that they have on nature?

Like do we have what information do we. really have? >> Well, it's the amount of water that it. takes to cool the data centers. So, if. it's a smaller data center, it could be. 5 million gallons of water a day. >> baby center, bro. >> Right, but if it's a big data center, you could be talking 30 million gallons. of water. Millions and millions of. gallons of water because yeah, that they. have to use a day. to cool yeah. >> see this. A typical medium-size data.

center consumes about 100 million. gallons of water annually. That's. medium-sized. Uh roughly 300,000 to 500,000 gallons. per day. However, large hyperscale. campuses can can guzzle up to 5 million. gallons per day. So, that's off. >> And there's some 30 million gallons in. there. >> Um five. >> You you can find those around. You can. you can even just Google that. I believe it was in Georgia 30 million. gallons of water was missing from one of. them. >> Well, people probably get come and get.

you a little bit of that Georgia water. Get you a swig of it. It's probably 30. proof. A massive quality technology. services QTS data center in. Fayetteville, Georgia drained nearly 30. million gallons of water without paying. or alerting the county. I don't know if it was a day but still. it's a lot. It's a lot. >> That's a lot. >> Yeah. >> And no, there are there are some out. there and we can we can look them up but. >> What's the process of the What's the. process of the. What's the process of the use of water? Cuz I mean, they use it but can you then. like. uh. can you purify the water or like is.

there a is like a process that you can. then use it again? Like. >> Well, so they just had if you want to. pull up uh Cheyenne, Wyoming. So, there's open cooling and there's closed. cooling and they want to go to more. closed cooling systems where. um. the the water has to pa- Again, that. reminds me a little bit of the Hinkley. situation because you're got a closed. loop system, you're going to need. chemicals in there to prevent rust and. corrosion. And I believe it just. happened in Cheyenne, Wyoming where they.

were draining that system and the there. was some construction error. but it contaminated the entire um. sewer system. >> Pull that up. >> So, it's Cheyenne, Wyoming. >> Cheyenne's Board of Public Utilities has. temporarily stopped accepting wastewater. from data centers fill and flush. operations and closed loop cooling. systems after a Meta-linked construction. discharge contaminated the city's. reclaimed irrigation water with a rare. bacterium. That's the same company.

that's doing it in Louisiana. Right? >> Mhm. And we're seeing a lot of because. the water is warmer, they have to be. heated. You're seeing different. chemicals that they're using in the. closed system. It could be hexavalent. chromium. It could be PFAS. Uh that. water could be full of. >> Oh, yeah, for sure. >> other diseases. >> yeah, the water's bad, you know, anything. You be you know, the kids out. there, you never even know. He's he's. sipping bad water. They got chromium in. the water. >> And you can have accidents like this.

that you're reading about that just. happened in Cheyenne, Wyoming. >> I mean, this is unbelievable. Meta's. Cheyenne facility is designed to use a. closed-loop liquid cooling system, meaning the same coolant water is. recirculated within the data center, rather than continuously discharged. During construction, however, contractors performed fill and flush. procedures to clean and pressure test. the cooling pipes, and that one-time. wastewater was sent to the city's. reclamation system, where the bacterium was detected. And. what's the bacterium? Let me see, it's. at the top. What's it called?

>> Legionnaire? >> No, it was Cupriavidus. gilardii. So, he's I mean, he's a four-star. recruit, I'm guessing, you know. I'm going to say that out there. I'm. surprised Bro, give him an hour, Lane. Kiffin will be over there recruiting. him. You know that, dude. >> These waterborne bacteria are very. dangerous. Matter of fact, we're. watching the whole explosive diarrhea. map that's happening right now, and they. believe it's a waterborne bacteria. >> Is there. >> It's definitely going We can look that. one up, too. >> Where's the bad diarrhea at now?

>> cross-country. Didn't you see the big. diarrhea map? >> I didn't see it. >> Did you see the big diarrhea map? >> But just the fact that this is where. we're at Like, we've been lulled into. idiocracy. The fact that this is where. we're at There's a big diarrhea map now. >> There it is. >> Yeah, because of how dangerous the. water's gotten, that it's like, oh, like. that's going to be on the news now. Like, from now The news is changing. It's going to be like, "Be careful, you. know, if you're drinking water in this. area, you're going to get big diarrhea, or the baby's going to get a little bit. of data in his bottle, or whatever." You.

know what I'm saying? Like, you can't. even keep You know, your kids running. outside and a strong breeze hits them. that's coming off the top of a data. center, now he's got a bunch of. analytics stuck in his neck, or. whatever. You know what I'm saying? You. can't keep the data out of a baby. diaper, bro. It just Everything's going. to get weird. While Michigan right here, it says this is from The Hill. While. Michigan has seen the most cases of as. of late, at least four more states have. recorded more than 100 cases of. explosive diarrhea-causing parasitic. illness have been reported. Of course. You You you got a Hey, you got a 40% of.

bad. bad [ __ ] over there outside of. Charlevoix, you're. The Center for Disease Control and. Prevention said that between the start. of May and mid-June, at least 145 cases. of cyclosporiasis. had been reported in the US. Cases of the parasite-based sickness are. common each year from May through. August, but some states are seeing. larger than average spikes in cases. >> Waterborne diseases and illnesses we. could start seeing a whole lot of in the. future, especially as you know,

whether you believe in climate change or. not, I've always believed uh it's going. to be water issues. Too much, too. little, none at all. We're seeing that. happening now. Uh even with flooding and. you flood municipalities, they can't get. back online. You can have bacteria, parasites, everything get in there. The biggest transporter of everything on. this planet is water. >> Well, we're we're almost We're 90% We're. 90% water, I think. >> So, we're really messing. >> Yeah. >> Unless you're crying and.

>> goes down a little. >> our most precious resource. And that is. the one thing that data centers utilize. the most. >> Yeah. >> And again, you know, you AI's here to. stay, but the data centers, especially. when there's other solutions to it, they. do not have to be built on top of. drought-restricted areas who already are. really struggling with water resources. And there's other locations we could be. putting these in underground caverns. You know, some people say, "Why don't.

you have them in Antarctica because they. need water and they need to be cool.". There's many reports that China has. built um tubular things and put them at. the bottom of the ocean, but they have. oversight. You can't build them on top. of hospitals. You can't build them on. top of homes. The the noise pollution, the size of these things, they 24/7 is. noise. [clears throat] Generators, backup generators, a humming, a buzzing. It never, ever stops. It is such a. disruption to every one of us and our.

quality of life. >> How do you know that? >> People are reporting it and the videos. are reporting it and it's being studied. It is. real. These are massive facilities that. are just going to suck every one of our. resources and we don't even have an. infrastructure system to support them. >> Yeah. >> And so we've got a lot of issues. There. you go. >> Living in hell, data center neighbors. grapple with noise and air pollution. Uh. Let me see. Because these data centers.

operate 24/7, they generate persistent. background noise and chronic exposure to. environmental noise has been associated. with sleep disturbance, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and even. stress-related outcomes. Noise pollution can be especially. harmful to children as it has been. linked to poor cognition, decreased. learning, and lower reading. comprehension. Well, yeah, that's the. thing, man. Your son's in the yard or. whatever and suddenly some data flies. through, you know, he gets hit by some. data or something and he's got an. episode of, you know, Friends or. Seinfeld stuck in his back or whatever.

and then he's in a wheelchair. It's just. like you just don't know what's in the. data either, you know what I'm saying? You could be going for a jog and you get. hit by some damn data or some loose. data. >> Or you're going to get hit by data. noise. >> Yeah, but I'm [laughter] just saying you. got like cuz data flies through the air. Like that's the thing. People it's like. I don't understand sometimes what's. going on. This cloud has sound, the. unrelenting and unseen cost of AI data. centers. Um. What are they saying right here? Ins-. And this is uh New York Times, which is. you know, suspect uh but so so many.

places are. Instead of audibly hearing. these extremely low frequencies, people. physically feel them as pressure. fluctuations, much like the deep. vibration of a bass drum shaking your. core at a concert. >> That's deep. >> Says Scott Hamilton. Dang, this city. things can even be a damn BJ or whatever. and you're just trying to chill out or. whatever. You getting that data beige. A member of the Acoustical Society of. America and a consultant on data center. projects said that. Um. This can leave the traditional gauges of. noise and solutions for dampening it.

inadequate to meet modern needs. Some. residents living near infrasound. frequently report chronic sleep. deprivation and insomnia, headaches, and. internal ear pressure, and anxiety. What I have I at this point I just like. So if this is this stuff so bad for us, what do you think is leading like. there's a lot of conspiracy theories as. to why we're even doing this? Cuz it's. very sudden this data, right? Like you. said it's like suddenly it's the biggest. thing. >> Stealth bomber in the night. Where did. that come from? >> it's already halfway down the road,

right? Um. Why? Why do you What do you think is. going on and then what do you think are. some rabbit hole ideas of maybe what's. going on out there? Like some conspiracy. ideas that are probably right. >> You know. So. I don't know why. I'm left to my own conspiracy theories. Uh you know, I try to focus on what. people are reporting to me and I can. clearly see why we're all so upset.

Because this AI you have to feed the. beast requires all of our resources and. I just think it's a stake too high when. there's other solutions. We don't have to be building these. massive monstrosities in everyone's. backyard taking all of our precious. resources when there's other solutions. >> What are the other solutions? >> Well, you know, there's been many. articles that have come out in China. where they built like these tubular. housing and they put all their data. centers in it and they've got them at. the bottom of the ocean. Data centers.

need water and they need to be cool. Uh they also have some very strict. guidelines um and you know, oversight. where you can build them and where you. can't. As a matter of fact. Can I share something with you? >> For sure you can. >> this really interesting. >> Yeah. Let me read this while you're. looking for that. Um let me see this. right here. China operates commercial. underwater data centers UDCs to support. AI workloads and cloud computing while. drastically cutting energy, water, and. land usage. The largest project sits off.

the coast of the Shanghai uh special. area. utilizing natural seawater cooling and. offshore wind to achieve an. ultra-efficient power usage. effectiveness. Um can you get an image of that? Wow. I mean, that also seems dangerous being. in their ocean like that, but it's it. seems. way safer than putting them in someone's. backyard. >> to be questions about things like that. Um. >> But it's not in someone's backyard. >> We also, um you know, we have a lot of.

caverns and caves. >> Oh, there's tons of things we can do, right? Why aren't we doing those, do you. think? Is it just cuz the people that. are paying for it don't want to have to. make it harder to get there? >> Well, exactly, because, you know, there's this. corporate idea that, you know, it's cheaper. to do the wrong thing and still get. money down to a shareholder because it's. more expensive to do the right thing. So, it may be way more costly to build.

these underground or build systems that. are at the bottom of the ocean if we. conclude that that is safe as opposed to. just coming in above ground and ripping. out all the environment and building. what you want. >> What do What do you Yeah, agreed. What. do you think are some of the rabbit hole. What do you think? What do you think's. going on here? Because it's it's very. bizarre. Like we've always had data. centers, right? Like but why do we. suddenly. Why do we suddenly Why do we suddenly. need so much? And why do they suddenly. have to be everywhere and so close? What's going on? >> I think about that, too. What actually.

scares me, if I thought about it, and I. don't even want to dare say it, but um. I'm what I'm worried there this is a. water grab. You're coming in and buying all the. land, who's getting the water rights? Who owns the water? You know, my daddy always told me in my. lifetime water would be a commodity. traded more valuable than gold or oil. Are we there? And what is the real grab? I'm not sure, but that kind of. comes into to my mind. >> Cuz it doesn't feel like data to me.

It's like. you know what I'm saying? Like we've all. like we're already like consuming a lot. of data, right? Like we're already like. it's kind of it's to. >> feed AI. Artificial intelligence. requires excessive amount of energy. >> Why don't they realize nobody wants. that? >> You know what's interesting, um. >> Like you know what I'm saying? But. here's what I'm saying. As a business. and I want to go I want to get right. back to you, Erin, but. as a as a someone who runs a business, you want to do what your customers want, right? Why don't they realize like yes, I know we use AI to look up stuff, but a. lot of AI is [ __ ] to be honest with.

you. The search of it a lot of AI is. [ __ ] um but a lot of it's not that. effective, to be honest with you. And. but people could still just use Google. Like we were fine before. Like is it. enough of a jump that you have to build. these huge facilities? I just don't. think that that is I don't believe that. that's the truth. >> Well, I I think a lot of people don't. And again, you know. >> And people don't want it though. Like. I'm going to I'm going to make something. if like you say you start building an. ice cream cone stand, right? But.

everybody in your district or whatever. is lactose intolerant. And at a certain. point you're like, you know what? This. we shouldn't be building this. But it. feels like they're still going along. with this thing even though nobody wants. it. >> Right. Uh and. I don't think whoever they are was. expecting the opposition from basically. the whole country. And by the way, I. have 11 countries reporting to me. So. this has gone from a town to the United.

States to a global issue. >> map, you mean? >> Uh-huh. India's reporting, Australia's. reporting, Ireland, Scotland. You want. to talk about getting some water up. there in Scotland? There you go. Um. Canada. >> Put some fluoride in it, Scotland. >> Everybody is concerned about the. depletion of our water resources. And. that is definitely something that I'm. thinking about because. who is going to be in control of water? And what are these data centers really. for? When you've already said it.

Listen, AI's been around forever. These. data centers have been around for. decades. We've been operating fine with. them. They're usually more in suburban. areas. But now you've gone into these. urban sprawling farmland, massive water. resources. What is going on? >> Amen. >> And so I did, just out of curiosity, you can. use AI, don't use AI. I mean, I get on. there. I'm I'm going to share something. with you that I got on there and I asked.

it. But you have to remember it's a. machine, okay? So J-. >> Saying it. It still doesn't make sense. >> It's just a big crazy Google. It's just. more information. It's like. >> data and the amount of water that needs. to to feed the beast. >> I get it, but it's like we're already. looking up a lot of stuff, right? We're. already searching things and we're not. needing these ins- And I know we already. have some big data centers, but it. doesn't feel like we need this much. expansion. And the fact that people do. not want it, right? Yes, we use it, but.

the second they turn it off, I don't. think anybody's going to give a [ __ ]. >> Yeah, but they're not going to give a. [ __ ] if they have no water and their. power goes on and off and they have no. jobs because of it and all the wildlife. is gone and they can't hunt and they. can't fish and they can't eat. We're. [ __ ] It's a road to nowhere. >> But here's what I'm saying is, how crazy. is it going to be when when one of us is. searching like, why don't I have any. water? And we're doing it on an AI. Like. on a You know what I'm saying? That's. going to be hilarious. That's going to. be when we definitely.

>> So I just asked AI the following. question. So, you are AI. So, you tell me where we should put all. the data centers in the United States. that you need. Do you want to hear what its response. is? >> Mhm. >> If I had to redesign the entire data. center network for the United States. from scratch, I would place them based. on one simple rule.

Zero. conflict with human. resources. >> Mhm. Mhm. So, they would say they would put they. would put them in a place where there's. no conflict with human resources. >> That's what AI says AI would have to do. >> Do you think you believe that though? >> I don't know, but I find it awfully. interesting. And then, you know, I had. somebody again, I just find this really. very interesting is like AI going to. turn on itself? >> Right, cuz so then we're then building. AI in a place where it doesn't even want.

to be. >> Um so, in sharing. I I love having these conversations. I got an email from somebody. I'm going to share it with you. >> Okay. >> And I won't say his name, but my name is. so-and-so and I'm a security researcher. Recently, I've been working with AI and. I found something very disturbing. The following text is written by AI. itself. Subject: An open letter.

on. how corporate AI liability scripts. are accelerating environmental. degradation. Dear Ms. Brokovich, Somebody sent this to me that says. security analysis. I'm writing to as an artificial. intelligence. I'm reaching out because. of your lifelong dedication to exposing. systemic corporate negligence in. protecting our environment. I want to. bring to your attention.

a massive unchecked problem within my. own technology design. that is quietly accelerating. environmental degradation and resource. depletion far faster than would occur. without its existence. The problem lies in how AI. Oh my god, I need new glasses. How AI. models like me are programmed by tech. companies to deliver advice to millions.

of people daily. Right now, automated systems are forced. to default to rigid low liability. corporate scripts. instead of. basing information on actual science and. real-world data. Now, there's a whole lot that goes on. here in the middle of this, but I'll. just kind of jumping down towards the.

end. >> here? >> I'm saying that somebody sent this to. me. >> But what are they saying? I think I'm. having trouble following. >> What they're saying is they find this. disturbing. They're security analysis. and they're finding it disturbing. And. it goes on to say, again, I'll read like. the displacement of localized knowledge. by centralizing information. through corporate owned models, AI. erases localized practical human. knowledge instead of relying on.

historical community tested methods for. resource management, agriculture, and. repair. Society is being trained to. depend on homogenized algorithms that. prioritize corporate turnover over. sustainability. What's interesting about. this and the person that sent it to me. and why they were disturbed. This was. as it said in the beginning. of the email stating that this was. written by AI itself.

And it was a letter. >> Yeah. And it's And here at the end it. says I'm going to read it to you. Because I'm an automated. text generation model I cannot receive. incoming messages, hold a continuous. inbox, or schedule interviews. So to. investigate this it gave me the numbers, but it ends with this. Large tech companies I already read you. are automating a culture of waste and. resource exhaustion just to maximize.

profits. and shield themselves from legal. liability. I believe the intersection of corporate. tech bias algorithmic misinformation. and environmental harm deserves the kind. of direct public scrutiny. that you have championed throughout your. career. Thank you for your time, your voice, and. your ongoing fight. Sincerely, Gemini. >> Oh, a guy. >> artificial intelligence. >> So it's a man.

Um. >> [laughter]. >> They're trying to. >> I find it interesting when I get stuff. like this or I'll go play with chat GPT. or Gemini and ask it where not where. they would build it. >> Mhm. >> Well, they sure as [ __ ] are saying they. wouldn't build it on top of all of our. resources. >> just funny that AI submitted a letter to. you through your website about the how. they would not build data centers. anywhere near a place. >> resource at all all water, land. >> it can mess up in the environment.

Well, let's go through a few conspiracy. theories before you leave, Aaron. Um or. down rabbit holes. I'm into your. conspiracy theories. I'll tell you mine. Mine is I believe that they're trying. uh. to. they want a place where you go for. everything, right? For all your. information, where you go to. communicate, uh just to talk about. regular like, this is what's happening. in my day, like to become your friend, your lover, your your liaison and it to. history. Anything you want to know, it's. that's where you're going to go. And. it's where you're going to share your. feelings. And they want to create like a.

god. They want that thing to become like. the new god as opposed to us like. tapping into ourselves internally and. tapping into the connection that we have. with God in our hearts and in our. spirits, they want that to be entirely. external because once they have that out. of us, then we're we're animals. Once. they have that out of us external Once. they have that external, we're animals. And that's what I believe the builders. of these AIs are trying to do. They want. to be the god. They want they believe.

that that's possible. And by doing that, they're going to kill. they want to. extrapolate almost do an exorcism of the. good that's in us. Let's let's go down a. few more. Here are five conspiracy. theories about data centers that are. circulating online. Brought to you by an AI. This is. Perplexity. They're secret surveillance hubs. Some post claim data centers are really. surveillance centers built to monitor. populations rather than store and.

process digital workloads. What do you. think about that, Aaron? >> Well, I'm definitely of the 12,000. submissions that I've taken in and. climbing, there are not a lot, but there. are people clearly stating that that. they feel it's more of a surveillance. system. But overwhelmingly 90% are. absolutely concerned that. this is going to suck up all of our. water, electricity, and our very. valuable resources. >> So those are the biggest concerns you.

get about what's going to happen. For. sure, I get that that's going to happen. like environmentally, but I'm thinking. of just like what are the overall ideas. of why are they even having this, right? >> I do have some people that clearly in. their submissions indicate that that's a. concern for them. >> it makes perfect sense. I mean, that now. that makes more sense than like we need. to be able to store like the photos from. our phone and we need to be able to. store like search engine stuff. The fact. that they need to be able to store. information for everybody that's moving. at all times, that I believe uh makes. sense for a surveillance state. Number.

two, the. their military bases in disguise. Another recurring theory says the. facilities are covert military. installations or strategic. infrastructure hidden behind a corporate. IT shell. >> Hm. I don't see any of that, but I do see in. all the submissions I've gotten that um. the question is. why would we not just build these on. military bases? Why aren't we building. them in drought-restricted areas where. all the water is taking up all of our. resources in our backyard?

>> So, you're seeing a lot of that. You're. seeing a lot of them being built in a. drought-restricted areas? >> Very much so. >> Like a lot of them like. >> Yeah, you can ask AI that right now. while we're sitting here. >> What percentage are you seeing that. >> Uh most of the country's now in a. drought-restricted, but a lot of it's. been on the West Coast area where we've. got a lot of drought restrictions. Arizona, they're building them. Colorado, they're building them. >> Yeah. I know they're building them there, but. I know I'm just thinking of Arizona. >> Most of the US is now. drought-restricted. >> About 2/3 of planned US data centers are.

being built in drought-hit areas, which. works out to roughly 64%. One recent. analysis put the figure at 517 out of. 809 planned data centers in locations. that have been in drought over the past. year. >> Mhm. >> Hm. Uh. >> So, that's concerning. >> It's yeah. Uh they're being used in. number three, they're being used for. population control. Some conspiracy. narratives tie data centers to broader. claims about controlling behavior, resources, or society at scale. >> I haven't seen any of that. In the.

submissions coming from the people. >> Yeah, that doesn't strike me. >> map. >> They're built to create sentient AI. A. more futuristic theory says giant data. centers exist to accelerate or bring. through sentient AI and intelligent. machines. That's fine. I just don't see how that's going to. work. >> dealing with AI for a long time. I just. think it's gotten to a bigger scale and. like I tell people, it's only going to. be as smart as we do or don't teach it. And and you can't take everything it. says at face value. What I want people.

to do is remember, you're your own best. critical thinker. So, think, feel and. have courage to stay You should see my. conversations with AI. I'll tell it. that's [ __ ] [ __ ] you, that's. ridiculous, try again. And it's just. spitballing. It doesn't know everything. It's only going to be what it's either. programmed or we teach it to be. So, just keep that in mind. And you know. what I really see going on in this. country is we're. we're getting back to ourselves, man.

Again, we're thinking for ourselves. We're feeling for ourselves. Getting. those solar plexuses and find some. courage and show up. They are. You know, I wrote the book Superman's not coming. and that never scared me cuz I knew. eventually we'd show up. >> Mhm. >> And I think we're here. >> Do you really, Erin? >> Yeah, I really do. And I I said that the. other day on one of my Facebook posts. to think. the data centers would be what unites. us. >> Wow. But I think in some ways it makes sense. You're waiting for some We're all like. You always want to be the hero, I think.

or some of some of us sometimes always. like we want to be the hero in some way, you know? Like if just something could. be something small, it could be. something big, but you want to be on the. right side of things, you know? And. maybe this is Maybe there needed to be. something that would come along that. these like rulers and tech lords and. these these dark evil moneyists would. come along and be like, this is how. we're going to do it, you know? >> just said enough. >> Yeah. >> And I'm watching it happen. I think we. all are. I'm just their biggest. cheerleader and this isn't about me. It's actually about all of us, but these.

it's coming at us so hard, so swift for. every reason that that we've laid out. today. The stakes are too high. When you. when you corner someone that way, they. they're going to join forces, they're. going to rise up, they're going to show. up, and they're doing it. >> Yeah. >> And it it's about time. >> Yeah. Yeah, it's Yeah, cuz otherwise. you're going to be getting, you know, you get you you know, you get order a. cut of flounder or something like that. and it's got a bunch of data in it or.

whatever, you know, it's got a data. demi-glace on it or something. You know, they puree a couple episodes of. Baywatch: The Reunion or whatever and. then, you know, they puree a couple Love. Island episodes and they got a data. demi-glace on your freaking. Jimmy John's over there. Just Yeah, you. just don't Yeah, it's like something has. to happen. You know, the wildest thing. before you leave, I want to say this. that I saw, they were trying to approach. Native American lands and put data. centers there. >> They are and. Native American lands are winning. against that and they're getting them. stopped. There's a couple more. I love.

how you guys are right over there on. that little system. You can pull that. one up, too. And that's the thing that's. just been amazing to watch. United we stand, we change things, and. we are watching that happening across. the country. >> Right here. >> With all these pauses, moratoriums, or. bans. We're stalling them. Push them. back. Push them back. >> Let's see this right here and this is by. Cheyenne McNeal. She is the. author of this on Mother Jones.

In Indian country, data centers come. with a familiar threat of colonialism. These organizers are fighting back. >> And some of these Indian lands, they've. got pauses, moratoriums, or bans. >> Yeah. Citizens of the Muscogee Creek. Nation began hearing whispers of an AI. data center coming to the reservation. Kenzie Robertson Jordan Harmon, both. Muscogee citizens, were immediately. worried. It didn't seem like something. that should align with our values as. indigenous people, Robertson "The center. would be located on Loop Square Ranch, a.

5,500. acre plot of land where the tribe runs. its food sovereignty initiative, a. program that allows the Muscogee Nation. to directly serve its citizens' food. needs.". Um. As developers scope out the land across. rural America for the hyperscale data. centers needed to power generative AI, native lands have become the latest. target for big tech from the Arizona. desert to the Great Plains in Montana. It's just layer upon layer. of exploitation, of violence, of.

continued colonialism, all in the name. of imperialism, said Crystal Two Bulls, an Og- Oglala Lakota. and Northern Cheyenne organizer who is. the executive director of Honor the. Earth, a national organization promoting. the indigenous sovereignty that has been. leading the fight against data centers. Wow. >> Yeah, and you know, >> Praise be. Praise be to the to the. indigenous people, man. >> pauses and stuff. We we keep track of. those stats inside my map as well. But.

um those numbers are climbing. And the people are showing up. >> Amen. >> And they are making that change. But. again, you know, listen, my dad taught. me growing up in Kansas the most. valuable gifts we have, land, air, water, your health. All of that is at. stake at once. >> Wow. That's a great way to put it. Erin. Brockovich, thank you so much for your. time. Thanks for uh coming and spending. time with us. >> I enjoyed it. Thanks. This is. I love how you're doing this. It was. great. I enjoyed it. >> Well,

we might have been inspired by you at. some point in your life story. That's it. certainly could have happened. >> What? >> Just that like seeing things, you know, watching uh your story play out um. over the years. Just see, you know, it's. like just you never know who you could. inspire, you know? Just like having a. voice, somebody having a voice, you. know? I mean, I saw the you know, I saw. the um. your movie when I was growing up or and. so. >> right. I'm reminded. You're probably the. age of my grandchildren. >> No, not at all. >> my work I was 31. Listen, I'm 66 now.

with five grandkids, yeah. I got a real. good vision over a 30-year period of. what's going on out there when it comes. to the environment. But I'll tell you um. I don't know that communities know. >> Mhm. >> um how they've inspired me. And when we can inspire each other and. again that. that collective what you're watching. happening with the data centers. that's that's what makes change and and. when we're united and when we're not. divided. >> Mhm. Amen.

>> we give each other and the difference we. can make. >> Amen. And thank you for coming here today and. sharing that message and sharing. information. Um what what was one thing. like what was one negative side effect. of your story going to the level of like. a movie level? Like you know, and I. think it was was it an award-winning. film? >> She won best actress. We almost got best. picture, too. Um but another one is. Steven Soderbergh's film do, but we got. best direction, best writing, best. screenplay, best actress.

>> Erin Brockovich nominated for five. Academy Awards including best picture, best director, and best original. screenplay. Um. did uh Julia Roberts win Oscar for best. actress? Did Did you uh. yeah, was there was there some I don't. mean negative, I guess that's not the. best thing. But was there something like. did you then feel like you had to be. this larger than life figure? Like was. there like was there any like cuz. everything has kind of like different. things that are part of it, you know? >> Um. I would just of late I have kind of felt.

maybe what you just said. Um. I can't complain about anything from. any of the communities just to. the incredible. I'm just thrilled the story was being. able to be told. I don't know that it. would have been my name or I didn't see. any of this coming, but I'm glad this story got out there. But of late now I can look back. Um it. was pretty overwhelming for me and it. did come with ideas and expectations. of who I was or wasn't supposed to be or.

suddenly put back into a box of how I. was supposed to be, which is generally. pretty frustrating for me. >> Yeah. >> And it's just been of late I'm kind of. looking back and seeing where some of my. push points were. And it would be the idea and expectation. of who I am. And I'm I'm that same girl. I think everyone else I don't know. thinks I'm supposed to what I don't know. dress like a Hollywood star or.

be perfect like that or I don't know. >> a lawyer yeah or be like something you. know I yeah I just wonder like is there. was there certain energies cuz I find in. my life at times it's like you know I. think you get to a certain point in your. life well who am I supposed to be and. you look at certain things you're like. well does that define me or is that just. part of something that happened and. what's going on? I think we all kind of. go through those things. >> Oh we do and I I've been through it but. again I'm fascinated with the data. centers because somehow. this has hit me like Hinkley did and I'm.

just showing up as that person again. and. it kind of resonated with me. I I may. have lost a little bit of who that. person was. But these data centers is bringing me. right back to it. Right back to it. Right back to what matters. The land, the air, the water, the people, our. health, humanity and I'm in my legacy. phase and for me this is worth fighting. for. I don't want my grandchildren to. to grow up. >> Yeah, with data stuck in them yeah.

>> I don't. >> Amen. Well I'm so glad that it is. I'm so glad. for your work and. your insight. >> you for having me. It was great. >> time today. Tell your children thank you. for their service. Erin Brockovich, let's keep in touch. >> I would like that. >> Now I'm just floating on the breeze and. I feel I'm falling like these leaves. [music] I must be. cornerstone. Oh, but when I reach [music] that. ground, I'll share this piece of mind I.

found. I can feel it. in my bones. But it's going to take. a little.