Oh brave new world

That has such data centers in it

I never actively choose AI for writing, creating images, or anything else. All the words here are mine alone, as are any mistakes. The photos I share are all taken by me, except in rare cases, in which credit is given.

The potager really takes off in May. The area pictured is given over mostly to ornamentals, with the herb bed in the background.

Apologies to my subscribers who show up to read about plants and gardening. I'm veering off that track once again as the data center coming to the northwest corner of my county consumes my thoughts and energy. As I tend the potager and walk around marveling at the beauty here, I can't help thinking about the land soon to be lost to this monstrosity. Just so nobody goes away disappointed, I'm including many photos of spring at Turtle Paradise with some in-depth descriptions. If you're sick of hearing about data centers and need a break, feel free to just read the captions.

As a gardener and land steward, I value land. What a silly sentence to write, you might be thinking. Doesn't everyone value land? We all understand that land has dollar value, which is sometimes immense and rising in many places. To me though, the word signifies not just the surface of the earth, but also the layer of life resting on it and reaching into the soil below. My land is the tiny section of biosphere that is somewhat under my control, and is connected inescapably to every other part through water, air, and living creatures that that move across arbitrary property lines.

Much garden writing is geared toward suburban land with no fertility because topsoil was removed prior to development. This path to the compost pile is what you get with high fertility and lots of rain.

Land sales for the data center project are imminent, and one has already gone through. Using my definition, I can state that land is indeed being sold, but what is being purchased is merely space to be filled, a platform on which to build. The mysterious companies buying this space do not value what exists there now, but only the potential for future profit. To maximize this profit, every scrap of life will be bulldozed. Trees will be removed, wildlife will flee, the surface will be scraped level, the site will become sterile, and the giant houses of death will rise above what used to be land.

Except for the scale and the speed of progression, this buildout isn't so different from a thousand other projects in the past. It feels different though, like one world is ending and a newer, diminished one beginning, filled with much more plastic, metal, and concrete — and less life. A world in which the line between real and fake is increasingly blurred, and fewer people care about taking the trouble to distinguish between the two.

The idea of land as a home for life seems almost quaint when I contemplate the disregard data center developers have for it. That which is precious to me is to our overlords merely a place to park the stuff they will use to build their gods before exiting a ruined planet to start over someplace else or otherwise pursue their sick dreams.

The long cool spring has helped the potato patch to thrive. The flea beetles haven't arrived yet and the potato beetle damage is minimal.

The names of the specific overlords involved in our local project remain unknown. Are they sitting in their towers, watching the fun as local ants swarm out of their hill and attack each other? No doubt the billionaires behind all this are too busy with the important task of figuring out how to control literally everything to pay attention to us, but their AI servants are probably recording our struggles so they can “learn” how to deal with future peasant revolts.

Here the swarming ants have turned against each other, at least where social media interactions are concerned. Staunch data center advocates defend the rights of landowners to sell their land to anyone they want (even though no one is arguing they don't have that right.) Passionate opponents list the horrible consequences of the coming development, but stop short of taking action. Tales of greed, corruption, and intimidation fly around online. In the real world, threatening notes appear in mailboxes.

There's a peach tree in there somewhere. In another example of high-fertility challenges, wild blackberries and wingstem, both native plants, attempt to engulf this corner. I’ll be tackling this area soon. I actually do fight nature here — in a friendly way.

This is the boots-on-the-ground reality of our local data center fight, though fight isn't the right word. It's more of a drawn-out span of time during which we snipe at each other, waiting for something to happen. Those heartwarming stories about residents packing town meetings and throwing out politicians who signed NDAs — yeah, that ain't happening here. (One county commissioner lost in the recent primary, but it is unclear which factors contributed most.) I'm willing to bet the situation here is the norm, and successful resistance the exception. Yes, some localities are voting in fresh faces, but are data center projects being stopped? Reports get a little hazy at that point. Most areas are either still in the waiting game like ours, or watching the bulldozers roll in.

It is rarely pointed out that if one locality succeeds in blocking a data center, developers will simply move the project to an alternative location. There is a lot of unzoned space in Ohio populated by the apolitical and the unorganized and ripe for snatching. It's the data center hunger games: Whoever fights the least gets a data center. We are all pitted against each other whether we acknowledge this fact or not.

There are a few bright spots in this bleak landscape. Against great odds, a small group doggedly continues to collect signatures to get the data center issue on the ballot in November. Fierce women patrol Facebook, mocking the (mostly male) toadies who defend the DC developers and the politicians who invited them here. Activists have come out of the woodwork to defend the county, and I've been lucky enough to meet many of them.

Yes, there is such a thing as a weed. If I didn't constantly remove unwanted plants from this spot, it would be a forest. Worst weed this year: sugar maple.

I've teamed up with a local man who recently returned to the spot he grew up to build a home and enjoy retirement. Not long after, he found out about the plans to build a data center a few miles north of his property. Together we hired an attorney and determined to remove a township trustee using protocols set forth in the Ohio Revised Code.

The trustee in question has land under contract to sell to the developers and is on target to become a very wealthy individual. He also happens to be one of the three officials elected to take care of the township and its citizens. Despite having advance knowledge of a large project in the works, and the authority to at least establish guardrails, he chose to do nothing.

If you are thinking that my new friend and I have been applauded for our efforts to bring to light an egregious conflict of interest and begin the process of dismantling the web of corruption here, you would be wrong. The response has been lukewarm at best, hostile at worst. Apparently people like the idea of railing against faceless outsiders coming to steal farmland and pollute rivers, but get cold feet at calling out one of their own.

Veg of the week: garlic scapes. The flower stalks produced by hardneck garlic types are a bonus vegetable of late spring.

This individual has been defended as someone who has done much for the community, as if this excuses wrongdoing. It's hard to tell if the sentiment is real or if his defenders are simply afraid of getting on the wrong side of an influential man who, if rumors are correct, has already announced he won't do business with those he feels have betrayed him. The ole boy network is alive and well, and residing in southeastern Ohio under the initials “GOP.” (In Ohio trustees run as nonpartisan, but in most cases their party affiliation is known.)

Republicans dominate county politics here. Rank and file Democrats are a small minority and elected ones almost non-existent. The data center affair has exposed a rift between the Republican populace and its leaders, as long-time Republican voters witness officials signing NDAs, stonewalling at meetings for months on end, and in general showing complete disregard for their constituents — in other words, flying their true colors. For an unaffiliated voter like me, it might be tempting to take the attitude of “suck it up, buttercups,” but the stakes are too high.

Not all Republican candidates and office holders are on board with the tech takeover and many are actively opposing it. In other states, Democrats are actively involved in welcoming data centers. This struggle is rightly framed as a non-partisan one, with ordinary citizens on one side, and huge tech companies and elected officials on the other.

A few hours of sun after days of rain

As an unsurprising result of witnessing the data center war play out locally, I've lost all confidence in county officials. I disliked them and their policies before, but felt that with their powers limited to local affairs, I could still live a decent life here without fear. Now I doubt the integrity of every office holder. Not a single one can be trusted: They have shown without a doubt that they care absolutely nothing about their constituents. They are greedy, power-hungry, and self-serving (and I hope one of their spies is reading this. Hi Greg, hope the words aren't too big for you!) They've sold us out for a few magic data center beans, and if I wrote what I feel the consequences of this betrayal should be, I would probably have the sheriff at my door within hours.

No ground has been broken for the data center, but the damage to the community is already evident. Residents have been betrayed. Trust has been lost. Greed is on full display. Will we continue to fight each other when the bulldozers roll? We will soon find out.

If you would like to contribute to the trustee removal action, here is the link to my fundraiser.