Who’s Looking Out for Our Land?
Data centers. They are owned by the richest people in the world. There are no rules, and Americans are footing the bill. This Administration makes promises about the air we breathe, the water we drink, noise, and light pollution. They make promises with absolutely no idea how hard the impact will be on communities. Americans are not comfortable with the secrecy surrounding these projects. The fears we face are not abstract; they are grounded in reality. We fear rising electric bills, exploding demand for potable water, and the loss of open space, farmland, or forest.
As artificial intelligence transforms our economy, companies are racing to build massive data centers across the country. Most of the world’s data centers are in the U.S. In fact, there are approximately 12,000 data centers worldwide, and the United States leads globally with more than 4,000.
The Trump administration said that a faster build-out is essential for staying ahead of rivals such as China. Well, I checked. China is not even number two on the list of countries with the most data centers. China sits just under 400 data centers. So if the goal is to outpace China and other countries so we do not fall behind, why didn’t we stop once we were well past our goal?
At the start of Trump’s AI Action Plan, many states were eager to get on board. They offered tax incentives and removed red tape so that tech titans could spend billions building the vast infrastructure needed to power data centers. Trump says thanks to this technology boom, we are seeing huge investments pouring in to the tune of $19.2 trillion in data center investments, and we are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in just 12 months. What about the consequences? According to the United Nations, the water used by artificial intelligence is expected to equal the needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030. The global infrastructure powering AI could consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030—nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries collectively home to more than 650 million people. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), the U.S. consumes 4,200 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. This means that data centers alone will consume 25% of the total electricity consumption in the United States. The EIA further said to expect average annual residential electricity prices to rise by 5.1% in 2026 and 2.4% in 2027. In other words, data centers are draining our water and continue to ramp up electricity use. Trump even recently stated we are going to need double the electricity that we have right now, maybe even more, to really fulfill what we want to do. The question everyone is asking: who will really pay for this AI boom?
On July 23, Trump had governors and electricity companies join a voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from data centers. He calls this his Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Under this plan, America’s largest tech companies have formally committed to investing in generating their own electricity in exchange for the right to do so. He promises that the people won’t be the ones to foot this bill, though we know that this Administration has lied in the past. There’s no telling when a certain project may require new substations, transmission lines, or additional power generation. A voluntary pledge does not prohibit these companies from passing the costs off on consumers; it simply asks them not to. To be fair, it does say “pretty please.” Is this just another “pinky-promises” he will break? Only time will tell.
While states were quick to hop on the innovation bandwagon, little did Oklahomans know that Oklahoma would be a primary target for this kind of expansion. Below is a running list of data center projects across the state.
Claremore
Muskogee County
Oklahoma City
Pawhuska
Pittsburg/Atoka County
Pryor
Sand springs
Stillwater
Owasso
Tulsa
Vinita
Yukon
For Oklahoma, these hit close to home because Oklahoma has always been defined by its land. Our farms, ranches, lakes, rivers, and open spaces are the foundation of our economy. Yet, farmers depend on water. Ranchers depend on healthy land. Hunting and fishing play roles in our economy. Living off the land is the Oklahoma way of life, and economic development shouldn't come at the expense of the very land that feeds us.
Our tribal communities are at risk. According to Rev. Chebon Kernell, a Mekusukey representative on the 28-member Seminole Nation General Council, “If they want to expand in Oklahoma, they're probably going to be on one of our tribal reservations.” Tribes are demanding verifiable information that this push is not just people’s politics getting ahead of science. In fact, the Seminole Nation became one of the first tribal governments in the country to ban AI data centers on the reservation. The Cherokee Nation created a task force in February to study the impacts of data centers. The Muscogee National Council rejected a bid to build a facility last November following a grassroots, anti-data center movement on the reservation. The Tribes are actively safeguarding their land. Oklahoma’s land. We must join them in their quest to protect our water and our air.
Let’s see what Tom Cole has to say on the issue. Tom Cole states, “I also care deeply for the well-being of our national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands. I believe that our natural resources are among our nation's greatest treasures, and Congress should work to ensure that the environment is preserved for future generations.” Yet, Cole stands idly by while this Administration strips protections from two national monuments held sacred by tribes, eliminates major habitat protections from the Endangered Species Act, and promotes the building of data centers all across the nation. We must demand that politicians create and support legislation that protects this land and holds data centers accountable.
For example, in March, Democrats introduced the Energy Bills Relief Act to rein in energy costs with clean, affordable energy, cut pollution, and reduce utility bills for millions of Americans. EBRA will invest in and deploy clean energy like wind and solar, hold data centers accountable, expand heating assistance for low-income families, and more. When elected to represent you, this is the kind of legislation I will proudly support and sponsor to protect this land and to invest in the services that improve the lives of my fellow Americans.
Every generation inherits something from the last. What will we leave behind? Will we leave behind a legacy of conservation, innovation, improvement, and expansion? Or will we leave behind polluted waterways, toxic air, and a massive cleanup? Innovation is necessary for continued growth, but we must ensure that the price of that growth is not our children’s future. We must protect prime farmland from invasive species of data centers and ensure that drinking water is reserved first for Americans, then for our agricultural needs, and then for industrial and technological applications. Anything less is selling out the American people for a quick dollar.
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Data Centers – Database, https://www.datacentermap.com/datacenters/.Watch: Trump Expands Pledge Aimed at Shielding Consumers from Energy Cost Hikes Due to Data Centers, PBS News, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-expands-pledge-aimed-at-shielding-consumers-from-energy-cost-hikes-due-to-data-centers\.AI’s Environmental Costs Threaten Water, Land and Climate, UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167658.US Consumers Face Rising Electricity Prices Despite Clean Power Savings, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-consumers-face-rising-electricity-prices-despite-clean-power-savings--reeii-2026-04-28/.Where Are Data Centers Being Built Across Oklahoma?, News9, https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-city-news/where-are-data-centers-are-being-built-oklahoma-list.Levi Rickert, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Passes Moratorium on Data Centers, Native News Online, https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/seminole-nation-of-oklahoma-passes-moratorium-on-data-centers/.Cherokee Nation Establishes Task Force to Study the Impact of Data Centers, Cherokee Phoenix, https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/cherokee-nation-establishes-task-force-to-study-the-impact-of-data-centers/article_173a3f43-b44b-43f4-a373-4dfa9293e45e.html.As Data Centers Eye Oklahoma, Tribes Weigh the Costs, KOSU, https://www.kosu.org/show/stateimpact-oklahoma/2026-06-25/as-data-centers-eye-oklahoma-tribes-weigh-the-costs.