06/11/2026
Re: Project Ta**us Data Center near Garden of the Gods - "national security" talking points are being exploited to approve data center development in Colorado Springs.
Broomfield, Jefferson County, Denver and Longmont all voted to pass a moratorium on data centers. Huge thanks to all the people who showed up big time for the places they live!
In the Springs, we face a unique challenge: National security talking points. Because our city is a military hub, city officials, other decision-makers AND our neighbors are more at risk of being converted to pro data center ideas by data center developers because they are trying to convince us that we need these centers for national security reasons.
And they're already doing this heavily. If you've been at any of the meetings about **us recently, you know.
"Former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers has said data centers like Project Ta**us are a critical tool the city must have to remain relevant as a national military and business hub." - From a recent Gazette article.
“As the military and commercial need for AI increases, Project Ta**us may, as a significant piece of tech infrastructure, prime the city’s economy for explosive growth, according to Suthers, and retired Gen. John Hyten, the chairman of the board of the Space Foundation." - From the same article.
Tonight at Shutter and Strum, there is a showing of Earth's Greatest Enemy, a film about the environmental impact of the U.S. military. Doors open at 6pm and the film starts at 6:30.
The more we examine the roots of these "national security" claims, the more bogus they will appear. We don't need to destroy the world to take care of the place we live. We don't need increased technocratic surveillance (don't we have enough already?) and more AI-empowered weapons.
These data centers are not in our (humans and nonhumans who are alive) best interest. Don't let some talking points about military readiness and/or business competitiveness convince you otherwise.
"But AI is just a tool." Ok, and tools are not created in a vacuum. The context of the creation of a tool is embedded into the tools themselves. And these tools were not built with life in mind.
