Regardless of their views on politics or climate change, most Americans oppose the development of data centers in their communities.

These large buildings filled with computers that store and process digital information, increasingly to support various applications of artificial intelligence, are being built rapidly across the United States. They can bring economic investment and jobs, but the pollution created by generating the electricity they need can also harm public health, pollute air, use up water, create noise and raise energy costs.

As more data centers are proposed, some local communities are pushing back against new and prospective projects. These debates are already influencing local zoning and permitting decisions, and increasingly reaching state lawmakers.

In early September, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order that no state agency will issue permits for data center development unless the project already has local approval from the municipality where it will be located. In Vermont, where Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill that would have imposed strict regulations on data centers, local governments are taking matters into their own hands by banning data centers in their towns.

Public opinion is playing an important role in shaping how data center expansion unfolds across the country.

We are researchers studying science communication, climate change and public health. To better understand what Americans think about these issues, we examined data from the Spring 2026 Climate Change in the American Mind survey. It is a nationally representative survey of adults in the U.S. conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for........

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