WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella is speaking out about the environmental impact of artificial intelligence. She believes the rapid growth of AI data centers is putting public land, fresh water, and local communities at risk.
In a recent video on her YouTube channel, Bella shared her thoughts after taking a solo hike at Radnor Lake State Natural Area in Davidson County, Tennessee. She visited the park and relished in the peaceful surroundings. This inspired her to talk about the importance of protecting nature from large-scale development.
Brie Bella raises concerns about AI data centers
During the video, Bella praised the beauty of Radnor Lake. However, she highlighted her concerns about public land being sold for new developments, including AI data centers.
“It’s hard when we’re seeing some of these lands being sold for data centers, for building. But why are people selling our land and building on them?” she asked.
Bella then explained why AI data centers concern her. She said these facilities use huge amounts of electricity and fresh water, which could create serious environmental problems.
“AI data centers harm the environment by consuming large amounts of electricity and fresh water. The centers’ demand increase greenhouse gas emissions, deplete local water supplies, and strain community power grids. I wanted to put some numbers to this issue to really put it in perspective and paint the bigger picture. Large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons per day of fresh water, equivalent to the water use of a town populated by 10,000 to 50,000 people,” Bella said.
She also pointed out that only about three percent of Earth’s water is fresh water. Moreover, she highlighted that only a small part of that is easily available for people to use. The WWE star pointed out that many areas are already dealing with droughts and water shortages.
She added that many companies use rivers, lakes, and underground water sources to cool their data centers while their energy needs continue to increase. Bella also talked about the amount of electricity these data centers require.
“Data center developers are increasingly tapping into surface and underground aquifers to cool their facilities. Additionally, a single modern AI data center can use as much power as 100,000 homes. Many of the larger ones now being built are expected to consume up to 20 times that amount. That’s almost unfathomable,” she said.
Bella believes this growing demand puts extra pressure on power grids and can lead to higher electricity bills for everyday people.
“If the damage to our communities, our environment, and the plants and animals that live among us doesn’t get you to care, the rise in power bills across the US, with Americans paying almost 10% more for electricity on average this past year alone, should make you care. That is only going to get worse for us as more data centers take over public lands and wildlife sanctuaries across the nation,” Bella said.
She ended her message by saying that protecting fresh water should be more important than advancing AI technology. “We can live without AI, trust me, we can live without it. But we can’t live without fresh water.”
Bella specifically spoke about a proposed AI data center that would be built only 50 yards away from the Nashville Zoo, worrying that the constant noise and light pollution could negatively affect the health of the animals and their living environment.
This isn’t the first time Bella has spoken out about environmental issues. Earlier this year, she partnered with PETA for a campaign criticizing SeaWorld’s treatment of marine animals.
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