Letters to the Editor

Reader: Absolutely no data center for Nye County wanted

1. Data Centers raise energy demand and electricity bills

…VEA “MUST” provide power to anyone with the proper paperwork and fees.

…VEA will have to increase their power portfolio to satisfy the new demand.

…As has already happened nationwide, the current owners of the VEA Co-op could see increases in their bills even though their consumption does not change – subsidizing the data center.

2. Data Centers will threaten our water supplies

…Water during construction

…Water for cooling

…Water returned to the ground contains pollutants – heavy metals predominantly

…Basin 162 is already stressed. Rainfall/snow melt is not recharging the water table for the existing water users.

3. Data Centers are creating air, noise and heat pollution

…Diesel generators for backup and peak demand.

…Constant Infrasound hum as high as 96dB 24/7, linking them to various negative health effects such as headaches, insomnia, nausea, and anxiety.

…Create heat islands, raising local temperatures between 3.6 and 16.4˚F within a 6-mile radius.

4. Data Centers drain public funds

…Do they sell a commodity or a service?

…How will Nye County recover any tax abatement?

5. Data Centers will not produce steady jobs for locals

…Jobs, usually from specialized external contractors, during construction.

…Only a handful during operation.

The BOCC has already put a moratorium on applications.

Now, we must demand they deny construction and operation permits for data centers in Nye County.

On Tuesday, July 7, starting at 10:00 a.m., the Board of County Commissioners will meet to discuss, among other topics, an ordinance prohibiting data centers. They will also discuss overriding the comptroller’s order NOT to fund new employees as the county is out of money.

We must show the commissioners that we are concerned about these items and show up to make our voices heard. PLEASE attend this meeting. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Stephen Pitman

History is choosing a better path for country’s future

The ancient Athenian poet Agathon wrote that “Even God cannot change the past.” President Trump is attempting exactly that—rewriting history—through policy and rhetoric.

Testifying about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Officer Caroline Edwards described a scene of “carnage” where injured officers bled and vomited amid relentless hand-to-hand combat. There were more than 140 injuries to police officers on January 6, and a comprehensive review of police bodycam video revealed “approximately 1,000” assaults on law enforcement on that day.

In one instance, Andrew Taake, who has been pardoned by Trump, pleaded guilty to assaulting police with bear spray and a metal whip. An officer he sprayed in the face described the pain as the worst he’d ever experienced—“like living death.”

Notably, the Department of Justice recently deleted news releases from its website detailing Jan. 6 charges, convictions, and sentences—including those involving violent assaults on law enforcement—with the DOJ calling the records “partisan propaganda.”

George Orwell, author of the dystopian novel 1984, wrote, “If the Leader says of such and such an event, ‘It never happened’ – well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five – well, two and two are five.”

Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny,” argues that democracy cannot exist without history because it depends on citizens who can recognize patterns from the past, accept responsibility for what their nation has done and choose better paths for the future.

Let’s heed the words of Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.” We should refuse to participate in efforts to rewrite January 6 as anything less than a violent assault on democracy and the rule of law.

Terry Hansen