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In a rural corner of Louisiana, Meta is building one of the world’s largest data centers, a $10 billion behemoth as big as 70 football fields that will consume more power in a day than the entire city of New Orleans at the peak of summer. While the colossal project is impossible to miss in Richland Parish, a farming community of 20,000 residents, not everything is visible, including how much the social media giant will pay toward the more than $3 billion in new electricity infrastructure needed to power the facility. Watchdogs have warned that in the rush to capitalize on the AI-driven data center boom, some states are allowing massive tech companies to direct expensive infrastructure projects with limited oversight. Mississippi lawmakers allowed Amazon to bypass regulatory approval for energy infrastructure to serve two data centers it is spending $10 billion to build. In Indiana, a utility is proposing a data center-focused subsidiary that operates outside normal state regulations. And while Louisiana says it has added consumer safeguards, it lags behind other states in its efforts to insulate regular power consumers from data center-related costs. Mandy DeRoche, an attorney for the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, says there is less transparency due to confidentiality agreements and rushed approvals. “You can’t follow the facts, you can’t follow the benefits or the negative impacts that could come to the service area or to the community,” DeRoche said. Private deals for public power supply Under contract with Meta, power company Entergy agreed to build three gas-powered plants that would produce 2,262 megawatts equivalent to a fifth of Entergy’s current power supply in Louisiana. The Public Service Commission approved Meta’s infrastructure plan in August after Entergy agreed to bolster protections to prevent a spike in residential rates. Nonetheless, nondisclosure agreements conceal how much Meta will pay. Consumer advocates tried but failed to compel Meta to provide sworn testimony, submit to discovery and face cross-examination during a regulatory review. Regulators reviewed Meta’s contract with Entergy, but were barred from revealing details. Meta did not address AP’s questions about transparency, while Louisiana’s economic development agency and Entergy say nondisclosure agreements are standard to protect sensitive commercial data. Davante Lewis the only one of five public service commissioners to vote against the plan said he’s still unclear how much electricity the center will use, if gas-powered plants are the most economical option nor if it will create the promised 500 jobs. “There’s certain information we should know and need to know but don’t have,” Lewis said. Additionally, Meta is exempt from paying sales tax under a 2024 Louisiana law that the state acknowledges could lead to “tens of millions of dollars or more each year” in lost revenue. Meta has agreed to fund about half the cost of building the power plants over 15 years, including cost overruns, but not maintenance and operation, said Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy group. Public Service Commission Jean-Paul Coussan insists there will be “very little” impact on ratepayers. But watchdogs warn Meta could pull out of or not renew its contract, leaving the public to pay for the power plants over the rest of their 30-year life span, and all grid users are expected to help pay for the $550 million transmission line serving Meta’s facility. Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard University’s Electricity Law Initiative, said tech companies should be required to pay “every penny so the public is not left holding the bag.” How is this tackled in other states? Elsewhere, tech companies are not being given such leeway. More than a dozen states have taken steps to protect households and business ratepayers from paying for rising electricity costs tied to energy-hungry data centers. Pennsylvania’s utilities commission is drafting a model rate structure to insulate customers from rising costs related to data centers. New Jersey’s utilities regulators are studying whether data centers cause “unreasonable” cost increases for other users. Oregon passed legislation this year ordering utilities regulators to develop new, and likely higher, power rates for data centers. And in June, Texas implemented what it calls a ‘kill switch’ law empowering grid operators to order data centers to reduce their electrical load during emergencies. Locals have mixed feelings Some Richland Parish residents fear a boom-and-bust cycle once construction ends. Others expect a boost in school and health care funding. Meta said it plans to invest in 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy in Louisiana and $200 million in water and road infrastructure in Richland Parish. “We don’t come from a wealthy parish and the money is much needed,” said Trae Banks, who runs a drywall business that has tripled in size since Meta arrived. In the nearby town of Delhi, Mayor Jesse Washington believes the data center will eventually have a positive impact on his community of 2,600. But for now, the construction traffic frustrates residents and property prices are skyrocketing as developers try to house thousands of construction workers. More than a dozen low-income families were evicted from a trailer park whose owners are building housing for incoming Meta workers, Washington says. “We have a lot of concerned people they’ve put hardship on a lot of people in certain areas here,” the mayor said. “I just want to see people from Delhi benefit from this.” Brook reported from New Orleans. Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Jack Brook and Sophie Bates, Associated Press/Report for America
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E-Commerce
Former President Bill Clinton opened the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative Wednesday with a list of things that worry him. It would be irresponsible, almost jarring, for us to take off and not acknowledge the traumatic rise in political violence that weve seen in our country, Clinton said about the shooting deaths of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Were pulling further and further away from one another. Clinton said he worried about the dismantling of domestic and foreign assistance programs, the war on science and public health, cuts to education, trade wars, and being at risk of losing our freedom of speech. Were trying to do everything we can to provide a counterweight to a lot of the negative things that have taken place in the last several months, Clinton said of the two-day conference, which shifted its format to create working groups to tackle many of the issues he outlined. The conferences biggest announcement on Wednesday was a partnership between the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Unitaid, and Wits RHI that will provide Gilead Sciences HIV prevention drug lenacapavir in 120 low- and middle-income countries for $40 a person each year, starting in 2027. The Gates Foundation announced a similar agreement with the Indian manufacturer Hetero Labs. Clinton said the move was partially in response to foreign aid cuts from President Donald Trumps administration, which he said could lead to more than 6 million more HIV cases and potentially 4 million more deaths in Africa. In July, GOP leaders stopped an additional cut of $400 million to PEPFAR, a program combating HIV/AIDS credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under then-President George W. Bush. Points of Light Chairman Neil Bush said PEPFAR and the way it has helped so many in Africa has always been a point of family pride. And though he hasnt talked to his brother, former President George W. Bush, about the new program announced at the Clinton Global Initiative, Neil Bush said he sees it as a way philanthropy can help fill in gaps. It seems like Americas withdrawal from the world is having terrible ramifications, in my personal view, he said, adding that Points of Light hopes to increase the help it provides through its ambitious plan to double the number of volunteers in America in the next 10 years. Activist and philanthropist Abigail Disney urged Clinton Global Initiative attendees to be more aggressive in their giving and encouraged them to support cultural movements instead of programs. I dont care where you are on the political spectrum there is mistrust, theres fear and there is anger, and we should all be very alarmed, Disney said. And I hang around big philanthropies these days and I dont see any alarm. I dont think thats because theyre not alarmed. I think thats because theyre afraid. Everybodys afraid. However, President Clinton said that the Clinton Global Initiative, which launched in 2005, has always looked to create solutions. If we hold our heads high, keep our eyes and ears open and deal with others with an outstretched hand and not a clenched fist, weve got a chance to keep hope alive, he said. We have the chance to make a meaningful difference in other peoples lives. _____ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. Glen Gamboa, AP business writer
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E-Commerce
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, which means many entrepreneurs minds are turning towards beach getaways, lakeside camping trips, or lazy days at the pool with the kids. These kinds of water-based activities are a great way to relax and stay cool. But according to fascinating research in neuroscience, swimming isnt just a fun vacation activity. It actually has special brain benefits that other forms of exercise just cant match. Not just another form of exercise It will surprise exactly no one that exercise is good for your brain. (If this is news to you, here are some studies for you to get up to speed.) Swimming is, obviously, a form of exercise, so therefore its good for your brain too. And thats the end of it, right? Not exactly. Swimming is a perfectly excellent way to get the generalized benefits of more movement in your life if thats your preferred way to work out. But psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered a variety of unique benefits that swimming seems to provide. 1. Swimming reduces stress. In fact, the benefits of swimming start before you even stick a toe in the water. Psychologists have discovered that even just looking at a beach seems to help us calm down and let go of stress. Recent experiments show that after just two minutes of viewing water outdoors, blood pressure and heart rate drop. Its more calming to look at a lake, pool, or stream than trees or grass. And wider bodies of water bring more tranquility, explained star psychologist Adam Grant in a recent edition of his newsletter, Granted. Evolutionary psychologists suggest this may be because marine environments offered our hunter gatherer ancestors a rich source of food and a clear view of incoming predators. Whatever the reason though, the effect is clear. The human brain seems wired to love the beach. 2. Swimming makes your brain work better. You might spend time by the pool or lake in order to forget the stresses of your working life. But while youre leaving your stresses behind, youre actually also boosting your memory in general. For one study, neuroscientists forced rats to do daily laps in a mini rat pool and then tested their memories. After just seven days of swim training, researchers saw improvements in both short- and long-term memories, based on a reduction in the errors rats made each day, reports neuroscientist Seena Mathew. And its not just rats. Studies on whether humans see the same cognitive benefits are ongoing but initial results are promising. One showed kids recalled a list of words much more accurately after swimming, compared to when they colored or did CrossFit-like exercise. Another study of older adults concluded that swimmers had improved mental speed and attention compared with non-swimmers, Mathew says. 3. Swimming boosts mental health. If your holiday involves swimming outdoors under the sky, you can expect to see additional benefits. A large recent global survey of wild swimmersi.e., those who take their dips in open air pools or natural environmentsfound that mixing swimming and nature delivered a particularly large boost to peoples well-being. Experiment after experiment shows nature just seems to make humans happier. But the researchers behind the study think something else is driving much of the increase in mental health experienced by wild swimmers. Our study suggests that the key to this effect lies in experiencing feelings of autonomy and competencefreedom and mastery over the swimmers environmenttwo factors that are strongly linked to well-being, explained Lewis Elliot, one of the researchers behind the findings. Swimming outdoors makes us feel free and confident. And freedom and confidence make us happier. Time to hit the beach or pool? All of which adds up to a simple message for entrepreneurs: If youre daydreaming of the beach, pool, or lake this Memorial Day weekend, maybe you should follow your impulse to plan that trip. You already know swimming is a great way to unwind. New neuroscience reveals it is also apparently a form of exercise with special brain benefits. Spending some time in the water this summer is likely to make you calmer, smarter, happier, and more confident. So maybe its time to dig out that bathing suit.
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E-Commerce
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