In any dogged pursuit of the subtleties of truth, answers usually can only freely follow when the right questions are asked.

Early on his fateful presidential campaign stump in remarks at the University of Kansas, March 18, 1968, Bobby Kennedy famously quoted George Bernard Shaw (1921), saying, “Some men see things as they are, and ask ‘why.’ I dream of things that never were, and ask ‘why not?’”

In the proper framing of the issue of data center construction, I believe we could turn Bobby’s famous liberal quote on its head and not so much consider the “Why not?” construct, as the “Why?”. As in, “Why construct any of these data center golems?” 

The Clinton case

The argument behind the exchange offered by the Linde Corporation, a largely unknown outside data-center interest, looks to local residents of Wayne County’s Clinton Township as one of an inevitable massive-scale construction involving stark environmental interventions and certain disruptions in the quality of local daily lives, in return for a kind of “manifest destiny” of broadly defined technological progress. 

And of course, who could possibly be against “progress”? Certainly not us commoner “bumpkins” out here in the Wayne County woods.

So, unless our rights don’t count or perhaps can be tossed aside when it suits the interests of powerful anonymous individuals, then something is amiss. Let’s focus on this “progress” argument.

Progress for whom?

Is it progress for Clinton Township residents to have endless noise; permanently fouled, unrecyclable water; and toxic air pollution, replacing what has forever been a healthy and beautiful natural setting? 

Also, more to the point, why would big money interests come to Wayne County, PA to construct a gargantuan data center? What is the lure? Just wild guessing: they are not here to fish! Instead, could it be a ruthless push for profits? Desperately trying to cash in on the massive speculative investments that have rushed into Wall Street to support AI, would these “carpet baggers” rather avoid the hassle of building such ponderous, invasive, Soviet-style centers in wealthy communities? 

Actually, they likely cannot build there. But financial exigencies still demand that these centers be built somewhere.

However, forecasted fortunes that could be made might just as easily be lost. The problem for these speculators is simply not anyone else’s—certainly not any Wayne County residents. Last month, as one, Clinton residents said to Linde lawyers, “We don’t want you here.” We clearly don’t need or want to lose our rights masquerading as your alleged “progress.”

John Pace lives in Honesdale, PA. He writes on Substack at John in the Woods.