Before They Build Georgia’s Digital Future, Who Is Protecting the Georgia We Live In?

We've been digging into what is happening with AI, Bitcoin, blockchain, data centers and energy here in Georgia, and the more we learn, the harder it is to look away, but especially look at these things as separate issues.

They aren't just about technology. They're about land. They're about water. They're about electricity. Even air quality. And they should be about the communities and families that are already here.

We can talk all day about how exciting AI is, how much money Bitcoin can generate, how many jobs data centers might bring, or how Georgia could become a leader in the next digital economy.

But eventually, every one of those things has to exist somewhere. Perhaps on our land. Connected to our power. Using our water. Sitting near someone's home. And that's where this gets personal.

We don't want Georgia to be afraid of the future. We want Georgia to be ready for it.

Because if we're going to welcome the technology of tomorrow, we also have to protect the resources our families need today.

Right now, we're already watching our water resources closely during a year of unusually dry conditions.

That makes this conversation even more important.

The question isn't: "Are you for or against AI?”

The question is: “What are we willing to give up to build it, and who gets to decide?”

That's the conversation I think every Georgia community needs to be having.

 

That is why I think we need to start paying attention. Not because I'm against technology. Quite the opposite.

I use AI. I believe technology can do incredible things. I believe Bitcoin and blockchain have legitimate potential. I believe Georgia has an opportunity to be a leader in the digital economy.

But there is a difference between welcoming the future and handing over our communities without asking questions.

AI isn't floating around in the sky.

Every time we hear about another enormous AI project, it's easy to picture something abstract.

Servers, clouds and artificial intelligence. Something happening somewhere on the internet. But those servers have to live somewhere. They need buildings and our natural resources such as land, electricity and water.

That means an AI facility can eventually become a question about your well, your utility bill, your property, your road and your neighborhood.

The University of Georgia recently published research explaining that data centers' water demand is increasing rapidly alongside cloud computing and AI. Georgia has already seen what can happen when water use isn't understood by the people living nearby.

A Georgia data-center project was reported to have used roughly 29–30 million gallons of water over about 15 months, with residents raising concerns after experiencing low water pressure. The people need to know what we're approving before we approve it.

Here in Candler County, we know what dry conditions feel like. The federal drought data shows Bulloch County experienced significant drought impacts in 2026, including being among the drier years on record through the first half of the year.

Georgia's Environmental Protection Division also declared a statewide Drought Response Level 1 in April and extended the declaration in August because of continuing dry conditions and concerns about water resources.

So when someone tells me that a massive new facility is going to need water, my first question isn't:

“How many jobs will it create?”

My first question is:

“How much water?”

And then:

Where does it come from?

Who gets priority when water becomes scarce?

What happens to our wells?

What happens to our farms?

What happens to our drinking water?

And who pays if the infrastructure has to be expanded?

 

The same thing applies to electricity.

AI data centers can require enormous amounts of electricity.

But let's not forget that Bitcoin mining requires electricity too.

They are completely different technologies with completely different purposes, but they can compete for some of the same basic infrastructure.

That means we need to stop looking at every proposal as though it exists in isolation. One development might need a certain amount of power. Another might need more. Then another. Eventually, we're talking about substations, transmission lines, roads, water systems and generation capacity.

And those things don't magically appear. Someone pays and lives next to them. 

Someone looks at the infrastructure every morning when they walk outside.

Somebody's children are going to inherit whatever decisions we make today.

Then there's the air. This is something I don't think gets enough attention. Large data centers can have backup generators. Lots of them.

Those generators can mean fuel storage, exhaust and air-quality considerations. And just this week, reporting on a proposed federal EPA rule change raised concerns that public scrutiny of certain minor-source air permits for data-center diesel generators could be reduced.

Again, I'm not saying: "Data centers are bad.”

I'm saying: Don't make decisions about my family's air without giving my community the opportunity to understand what is being built and understanding it for yourself. 

 

Bitcoin isn't AI.

Bitcoin mining isn't the same thing as an AI data center. But both are part of a much larger shift toward enormous amounts of computing infrastructure.

Georgia has been preparing for the blockchain and financial-technology economy for years. The University System of Georgia has incorporated blockchain and cryptocurrency into FinTech education. Georgia Tech has developed substantial blockchain and cryptocurrency research and education. Georgia is simultaneously becoming a major destination for data-center development.

So I don't think we should be looking at these things separately anymore.

We need to be asking:

What kind of digital economy are we building in Georgia?

And equally important:

What kind of Georgia are we building it on top of?

Because our land and water isn't unlimited.

Once farmland becomes a giant industrial site, you don't get that farmland back. Once a neighborhood is surrounded by massive infrastructure, you can't simply pretend it isn't there. Once water resources are stressed, you can't manufacture another aquifer. Once an industrial facility is built next to a community, “we didn't know” isn't much comfort.

That's why local ordinances matter so much. This is where YOU actually have a voice. We don't have to decide that every new technology is bad. We don't have to fight every business or become experts in AI or Bitcoin.

But we do need to become informed citizens. We need to know what our county ordinances say. We need to know what our city ordinances say. We need to know what zoning districts allow. We need to know what requires a variance, conditional use or special approval. We need to know what public hearings are coming up. We need to ask for water-use estimates and noise pollution.

We need to ask what happens when the facility changes ownership. And we need to ask what happens when the technology changes.

Because today's “AI facility” could look very different ten or twenty years from now.

Our ordinances need to be written for the impact, not simply for whatever technology happens to be popular today. That's how you prevent loopholes.

Ask questions... Not tomorrow.

Now.

Because once the concrete is poured, the power lines are built, the water is committed and the permits are approved, changing course becomes a whole lot harder.

 

Kep digging. Not because you think you have all the answers. Because I think Georgia families deserve to know the questions and the full picture. 

And maybe, together, we can make sure that the future we build is one our children will actually be proud to inherit.