Digital Dumps & Dirty Deals: How Environmental Racism Persists in the Age of AI

In the fight for a cleaner, greener, and more just future, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: environmental racism in America isn’t just a relic of the past — it’s evolving. From landfills and chemical plants to the rise of AI-powered data centers and warehouse sprawl, urban Black, Brown, and low-income communities are still being treated as sacrifice zones.

The Modern Face of Environmental Racism

Historically, environmental racism has looked like:

• Landfills and hazardous waste sites placed near Black and Brown communities

• Polluting industries intentionally zoned in working-class neighborhoods

• Underinvestment in clean water, sanitation, and green infrastructure

Today, the threat is both digital and dirty.

AI and Data Centers: The New Polluters?

The promise of artificial intelligence and cloud computing comes at a cost. Data centers — the massive warehouses filled with servers powering everything from ChatGPT to TikTok — consume enormous amounts of electricity and water.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers use about 2% of the total electricity in the United States, with some projections showing this could double or triple in the next decade. These facilities also require millions of gallons of water daily to cool their servers, creating a direct strain on local water resources — often in already vulnerable or drought-prone areas.

Now ask: where are many of these data centers located? Increasingly, they’re being built in low-income urban or rural communities with lax zoning regulations and limited political power — from East Palo Alto to parts of South Texas and Ohio.

Landfills, Logistics, and Diesel Death Zones

In urban centers like Chicago, Atlanta, and Newark, waste transfer stations and landfills are disproportionately located near Black and Brown communities. According to a 2021 report by the Environmental Integrity Project, people of color make up 56% of the population living within 1 mile of hazardous waste facilities, compared to just 30% in the general population.

Add to that the growing footprint of e-commerce warehouses and fulfillment centers — powered by diesel truck fleets — and you’ve got what many activists now call “diesel death zones.” These neighborhoods often suffer from higher rates of asthma, cancer, and heart disease, caused by chronic exposure to air pollutants.

Heat Islands and Climate Inequality

Urban communities of color are also on the frontlines of climate-related environmental hazards. A 2020 study from the journal Climate found that formerly redlined neighborhoods are now up to 13°F hotter than wealthier, whiter areas of the same cities. These heat islands, caused by lack of tree canopy and green space, are not only uncomfortable — they’re deadly.

In cities like Cleveland and Detroit, where industry meets inequity, this translates to higher utility bills, more emergency room visits, and premature deaths during summer heat waves.

Resistance and Restoration

Despite this grim reality, frontline communities are fighting back:

• In Brooklyn, residents stopped the construction of a new gas power plant in a historically Black neighborhood.

• In South L.A., youth groups are mapping air quality and organizing for clean transportation.

• In Columbus, Ohio, grassroots coalitions are demanding equitable development, green jobs, and community-owned infrastructure through local initiatives like the Unified Collective.

A Green Future Must Be a Just Future

We cannot allow the next era of “innovation” — from AI to green energy — to repeat the same patterns of racial and economic exploitation.

A just environmental future must include:

• Community-controlled development

• Green workforce development for frontline residents

• Public ownership of data infrastructure

• Policies to equitably distribute green infrastructure and AI benefits

Environmental justice is not a side issue — it’s the heartbeat of the climate movement. We owe it to future generations to clean up the mess and make sure they don’t inherit a planet — or a ZIP code — defined by someone else’s disregard.