The xAI data center in Memphis has received permission from the local health department to continue emitting pollution from burning methane gas, which it has been doing unauthorized for a year. The facility powers Musk's Grok chatbot and supercomputer, Colossus. Located in the historically Black Boxtown neighborhood, the center's operations exacerbate existing respiratory issues among residents due to elevated asthma rates from nearby industrial pollution. Activists express outrage at the permit's approval, arguing it violates the Clean Air Act and compromises the community's right to clean air.
"I can't breathe at home," Boxtown resident Alexis Humphreys told Politico earlier this year. "It smells like gas outside."
"I am horrified but not surprised," conceded KeShaun Pearson, the head of the Memphis Community Against Pollution, in an interview with Wired after the permit decision came down. "The flagrant violation of the Clean Air Act and the disregard for our human right to clean air, by xAI's burning of illegal methane turbines, has been stamped as permissible."
Collection
[
|
...
]