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Hundreds of Utahns gathered on the Capitol steps Saturday afternoon, demanding a halt to the development of the <\/span>Stratos Project<\/span><\/a>, a controversial 40,000 acre data center campus set to be built in Box Elder County along the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The demonstration follows Box Elder County commissioners\u2019 decision to allow the project to move forward, despite backlash from citizens and environmental groups. Speakers warned that the project could negatively impact air quality, increase greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbate the state\u2019s water supply struggles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chants like \u201cdata center dollars don\u2019t trickle down, Kevin O\u2019Leary get out of our town,\u201d a reference to the project\u2019s billionaire investor, and \u201cAir, water and land, we\u2019ll keep on fighting and take a stand,\u201d echoed through the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese data centers carry consequences that extend far beyond even their enormous\u00a0<\/span>footprints,\u201d Patrick Belmont, a professor in the Watershed Sciences department at Utah State University, told protesters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He said technical issues like the size of the project \u2014 with the land set aside for it adding up to <\/span>twice<\/span><\/a> the size of Manhattan \u2014 are a major concern, but deeper problems \u201caren\u2019t just technical.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen decisions this large move forward without transparency and independent review <\/span>and when communities are handed the risks,\u201d he added, \u201cthat is not progress, it\u2019s a warning sign.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Belmont emphasized tech companies \u201cbuild AI infrastructure in ways that compound the very harms we need to reduce.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rep. John Arthur, D-Holladay, echoed Belmont\u2019s sentiment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have all agreed that we\u2019re in a state of emergency when it comes to water. A data center like this exacts a terrible toll in our air, our water and our landscape,\u201d he said in an interview with Utah News Dispatch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Speakers at the rally, a mix of activists and Democratic legislators, urged protesters to take environmental action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Speaker Shannon Barton, a resident of Brigham City in Box Elder County, formed <\/span>BEAR,<\/span><\/a> or the Box Elder Accountability Referendum, an organization aiming to put the project\u2019s fate in the hands of voters. The decision to form the organization came after commissioners <\/span>denied<\/span><\/a> public comment when the large crowd grew unruly at the meeting where they cast the final vote to greenlight the project.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Barton said she left the meeting \u201cdevastated.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe rally\u00a0<\/h4>\n
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