More than 230 environmental groups are calling for a national pause on new datacenters, arguing that the runaway growth of AI infrastructure is driving up electricity bills, straining water supplies, and worsening the climate crisis. Their letter to Congress says datacenters have expanded so quickly and with so little oversight that they now pose a threat to economic and environmental stability, especially in communities already struggling with rising utility costs. Local backlash has already stalled or blocked at least $64bn worth of projects as residents push back against soaring power demand and heavy water use.

That anger has spilled into state politics. Recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia showed voters from both parties rallying around candidates promising lower energy bills and tighter controls on datacenters. This shift comes at a tricky moment for Donald Trump, who has promoted rapid AI expansion while branding himself the affordability president. But household electricity prices have risen 13 percent during his term, and millions of Americans report struggling to pay their utility bills. Analysts say several factors contribute to higher prices, including aging infrastructure and climate-driven weather damage, but datacenters have become the political focal point because their power consumption is set to triple in the coming decade.

Environmental advocates see an opening. They’ve struggled to counter Trump’s rollbacks on climate and pollution rules, but rising bills have turned datacenter growth into a pocketbook issue that cuts across partisan lines. Opponents warn the sector could add tens of millions of tons of carbon emissions by 2030, roughly equal to putting another ten million cars on the road. But for many Americans, the immediate concern is simple: they don’t see clear benefits from AI, yet they feel they’re paying the price through higher electricity and water costs. Grassroots organizers say that frustration is now widespread, bipartisan, and only getting louder.