Trump couldn’t get it passed... - Alt National Park Servicehttps://www.facebook.com/share/1CEeHbqLqw/Trump couldn’t get it passed in his big 💩 bill, so now here are his executive orders.
Let’s break down what Trump’s new AI executive orders actually mean. On July 23, the administration issued a sweeping directive to “facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout” of AI infrastructure by, in its own words, “easing Federal regulatory burdens.” One order explicitly calls on agencies to “streamline environmental reviews and permitting” by using existing exemptions or creating new ones. In practice, that means fewer safeguards, less public input, and fast-tracked approval for massive data center construction, even on federal land.
What’s more, the administration brags that it “revokes a Biden-era Executive Order that would have saddled AI data center development … with pages of DEI and climate requirements.” This signals a wholesale retreat from environmental accountability. These data centers are notoriously energy and water intensive, using millions of gallons of water daily and consuming electricity at rates that rival entire cities. And under this new policy, they can now be built without the oversight meant to protect air quality, local ecosystems, and public health.
We’re already seeing the real-world impact. In South Memphis, particularly in Boxtown, a neighborhood long burdened by industrial pollution, residents are now facing a new threat: up to 35 unpermitted methane gas turbines powering xAI’s “Colossus” supercomputer. These turbines emit massive quantities of nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, smog-forming and carcinogenic pollutants that have increased local ozone by 30 to 60 percent and worsened asthma rates in a community already leading the state in emergency asthma visits. Advocacy groups, including the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, issued a Clean Air Act notice, calling the site potentially “the largest industrial source of smog-forming pollutants in Memphis.” Residents report rising cases of respiratory illness, days too unhealthy to be outside, and a cancer risk four times the national average. Although local officials recently approved a turbine permit, the very next day brought a Code Orange air alert, underscoring the mounting public health crisis tied to unchecked AI development.
The orders don’t stop there. They also cancel major clean energy infrastructure, like the 4.9 billion dollar Grain Belt Express transmission line, and steer AI growth toward fossil fuels and nuclear instead of renewables. This could severely hinder U.S. climate goals and lock in decades of carbon-heavy infrastructure. Taken together, the language of these executive orders makes it crystal clear: this isn’t just about AI, it’s a full-speed deregulation plan that prioritizes corporate expansion over the health of American communities.