Following up on my previous NIMBY-esque data center piece, consider this…
This is the “Bumblehive” data processing center, it’s 1.5 million square feet and accounts for a third of all “unclassified” centers. It’s run by the National Security Agency, or NSA. It represents about a third of the total and is soon to be dwarfed by the Homeland Security building which will be over twice as large. It’s unknown how many millions of square feet our nations spy agencies have dedicated to data collection, but it’s absolutely massive.
Thanks to leaks from whistleblower Edward Snowden we know exactly what they get up to — if we bothered to read it.
When I hear people who are worried about Data centers that are supposed to be invading our privacy, I kind of have to chuckle.
I’m not worried about typical data collection that is needed to run a modern society, I’m worried about Bumblehive and others like it.
Personally I don’t give a damn if Amazon keeps track of what kind of Toilet Paper I use.
People who are more concerned with private data collection than they are Government data collection truly puzzle me. Half of these same people won’t stop sharing photos of their kids on-line, they announce their birthdays and post their school schedules, they live with a cell phone in their hands that tracks their every move, but DATA CENTERS are the devil!!
Private companies will be collecting and using data regardless of whether or not it’s consolidated in the most efficient and cheapest way possible, which is all data centers do. They are better for the economy and the environment too, but they are scary!!. These centers use less water and less electricity than the way we currently do it, they are comparably “Green” and your government is spying on you anyway, most of the time with our own help.
If you are going to be concerned about data collection centers, can’t you please be worried about the right ones?
Brad Smith, Guest Scribbler
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