Building Local Power
By Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.
9 episodes
All Episodes
Reclaiming Civic Agency Against Extractive Data Center Infrastructure
Data centers are not neutral infrastructure. They are extractive assets that prioritize corporate monopoly over the public interest. Local communities can reclaim their agency by challenging these projects and demanding transparency to ensure genuine energy resilience.
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How AI Data Center Expansion Shifts Infrastructure Costs
The expansion of AI data centers is forcing residential customers to subsidize speculative utility infrastructure. This guide explains how utilities shift financial risks to the public and why current rate structures leave consumers paying for corporate growth.
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AI's Compute Race Creates Environmental Injustice in Vulnerable Communities
The AI race's demand for compute power disproportionately burdens Black and low-income communities with pollution and resource depletion, revealing how technological advancement exploits vulnerable populations.
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Data Center Development Disregards Local Communities Through Preemption
Data center development often masks a disregard for local communities, driven by legislative preemption and corporate secrecy. Understand the hidden costs and how communities can fight back.
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Data Center Development's Local Costs: Noise, Jobs, and Autonomy
Data centers, driven by AI's demand, disrupt communities with relentless noise and environmental strain, eroding local control despite promises of progress.
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Data Centers Reshape Landscapes Amid Corporate Extraction Versus Local Autonomy
AI's data center boom reshapes landscapes, pitting corporate extraction against local autonomy and threatening community control. Reclaim agency by understanding systemic forces and organizing for your future.
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Monopoly Broadband Distorts Incentives, Elevating Local Control
Telecom monopolies distort market incentives, leading to subpar service and systemic inefficiencies. Discover how community-driven alternatives offer a path to better outcomes and strategic local control.
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AI Data Centers Target "Least Political Resistance" Communities
Vulnerable communities are disproportionately burdened by polluting infrastructure, a pattern now seen with AI data centers mirroring past incinerator siting. Challenge this cycle by championing local, sustainable alternatives.
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Community Ownership Essential for True Clean Energy Resilience
Clean energy's true revolution lies in community ownership, not just technology. Local control ensures genuine energy self-reliance and economic resilience, preventing new monopolies.
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