Willie Nelson has penned an open letter denouncing AI data centers being built near his beloved hometown and across the country, while Tanya Tucker is also speaking out through a video message.
On Tuesday, Nelson, 93, took to social media to share the open letter titled “To whom it may concern and to everyone else as well,” in which he voiced his concerns about data centers and their impact on rural communities.
“I grew up in Abbott, and I still have a home there with farmed land where I can still see stars at night. And now our community, like many others, needs to fight against data centers invading our land. The last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter),” he wrote.
Nelson continued to emphasize the importance of farmers and the role they play in sustaining communities across the country.
“The strength of rural America has never come from big industrial footprints. It comes from generations of people, open spaces, local businesses, and a connection to the land. All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn’t steal farmland (where our essential shared-food is grown) and small family farmers’ livelihoods, and not data centers that only destroy the environment around them. Whoever controls food and water, controls the masses. Let’s not allow our own demise or give up control over necessary resources in the U.S. and especially in Abbott.”
Nelson isn’t the only Texas native speaking out. Tanya Tucker is also using her platform to stand against the construction of data centers and related infrastructure projects in the Lone Star State.
In her message, Tucker shared, “Hi, I’m Tanya Tucker and I’m a proud Texan. I want Texas to be strong and have a reliable power grid, but I’m concerned about these 765 kilovolts of transmission lines coming through all the ranches in Texas and destroying our property. It hurts. It’s going to hurt our health, our wildlife, our water table, our water resources. It’s going to scar our land forever. So I’m asking you to join me in asking Governor Abbott to just pause, just take another minute to find out what this is really going to do to our land. And if you don’t know about it, you need to learn about it because it’s starting in Texas, but it’s going to go everywhere. So let it stop in Texas too.”
Tucker urged fans, “Respectfully comment, or call 512-463-2000 to let the governor know he needs to pause the Central Texas 765-kV lines.”
Nelson and Tucker’s messages come as Texas is expected to see at least 248 new data center projects, according to a recent analysis from The Texas Tribune.
The country music icons’ statements echo many Americans’ growing concerns about the environmental and infrastructure impacts associated with data centers.
The post Willie Nelson and Tanya Tucker Speak Out Against Data Centers Impacting Texas Land and Rural Communities appeared first on Country Now.
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