scalebar on Nostr: Given the datacenter capital of the world managed to nucleate near Dulles airport ...

Given the datacenter capital of the world managed to nucleate near Dulles airport (IAD), it acts as a constant highly visible reminder to anyone visiting the capital. Having attended a very relevant conference this week, I heard several gov't officials commenting about the crazy growth and energy footprint of data-centers in their backyard. I wonder to what extent over-indexing of this issue is taking place with public officials chartered with regulating this space. It's easy to get all worked up about something that's in your backyard, and ignore it if it's out of sight. NIMBYism taking place at a regulatory level in real time. Or, is the opposite true? Does having something nearby give you a certain familiarity and comfort level that makes it manageable?