VIRGINIA COUNTY HOME TO DATA CENTERS TELLS PEOPLE TO CONSERVE ...

Just in case you've been living under a rock lately to escape all the heat and because you're not allowed to turn your air conditioner down to anything below 90 degrees, you can blame two things: (1) all those AI data centers that Mr. Globaloney wants to build into order to turn us all into slaves who have to use his "digital 'currency'" (or else!), and (2) the inadequate power grid trying to support it all. Don't believe me? Then behold the latest in technological progress from the once-great Commonwealth of Virginia, which we probably should rename the Commonmiserification of Virginia:

Virginia County With 37 Datacenters Tells Schools And Public Spaces To 'Turn Off Your Lights' To Conserve Electricity

And in case you missed it, here's core of the story:

As first reported by 404 Media, the County Manager of Henrico County, Virginia, John Vithoulkas, sent an email on June 26th to thousands of county employees telling them to find ways to conserve energy consumption.

The obtained email said (emphasis his):

“Beginning July 1^st, the rate we pay for electricity used in all Henrico County government and school facilities will increase dramatically — by 25%, increasing costs by an estimated $5 million next fiscal year. We anticipate more rate increases for electricity in the years ahead.

“To mitigate the impact of higher electric costs, I am asking that we, collectively, make slight adjustments to conserve electricity across our individual workspaces.

“Turn off your lights when leaving your workspace, including when you leave for the day. Turn off your computers/laptops at the end of each workday. If your workspace has windows, adjust the blinds to manage heat from sunlight. Unplug any appliances, chargers, or other electrical items when they are not in use. Please limit use of (or refrain altogether from using) space heaters. A typical space heater alone can cost the county from $150 to $300 per year in electricity costs.

But wait!  There's more!

As the rollout of more and more datacenters in the county has continued, residents have increasingly pushed back and raised concerns over the projects, particularly water use, noise, and the rising cost of their electric bills.

WTVR reported in May: One by one, residents stepped forward not just to ask questions but to demand answers, holding signs that read “No More Data Centers.” “What’s going to happen to our power bills? What’s going to happen to the grid itself? So I’m just not understanding the sustainability and the feasibility,” one attendee said.

“I walk outside and I’m terrified that I won’t be able to look at the night sky anymore and have a constant hum in my ears,” said longtime Varina resident Brandy Covington. “We are getting what we’re getting, so it’s just dealing with it, I guess,” Covington said.

“According to county officials, the facilities could eventually include more than 300 diesel-powered emergency generators and 11 cooling towers,” WTVR noted.

Oh, good! See? The dukes, earls, barons, and viscounts of the corporation are willing to supply their own power with more than 300 diesel-electric generators and 11 cooling towers. Just imagine 300 semi-tractors in your neighbor's yard, running full tilt, 24/7, and you get the idea.  And you can forget about a decent night's sleep and waking up to the pleasing and invigorating sound of birdsong.  And if you thought your electric bill was going up (a mere 25%!), just imagine if you rely on diesel for your car or livelihood, if you're a trucker or a farmer.  I shudder to think what the local price of diesel will be.  And that will trickle over into food prices, fertilizer prices... everything.

As Brandy Covington, the lady mentioned in the article says, "We are getting what we're getting, so it's just dealing with it, I guess."  Yes, this is what you're getting, and will have to "deal with"; I call it The Artificial Intelligence Data Center Musical Chair Dance:

If today they're telling you to turn off your lights and computers now when you leave your workplace, or to close the blinds, or not use space heaters (or air conditioners), then tomorrow they'll be telling you to do without electricity altogether. If your little Johnny or Susie has difficulty reading their textbooks in the dark (like they have any of those), just buy them candles or $1000 phones... What's that? They can't charge their phones because the electricity is off because the data centers are mining your data to know what advertisements to run on your phones that you cannot use because the electricity is off and they cannot make money selling data from their data centers because the money isn't worth anything because the whole country went to digital electronic money and the electricity is down and no one has any money because the data centers are off line because they cannot have computers track the money because their is no electricity...

...candles it is, then...

I don't know about you, but none of this seems like a very good idea, but what else would or should we expect from people like Larry The-Aptly-Surnamed-Fink? And rather than meekly rolling over and passively accepting something that promises everything and will deliver nothing but chaos and misery, why not quit being such cowards and sheep, stand up, and simply say NO!

Put your data centers in China. Rumor has it they have a great big dam there that puts out a lot of power...

See you on the flip side...

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