To spot the site of a new data centre, look for the crane(起重机)s. About a dozen soar(高耸；翱翔) over the fields of Saline township, Michigan, visible for miles around. Another hint is the convoy(车队；护送) of cement-mixers trundling down the road, loudly and constantly. When the OpenAI and Oracle(OpenAI与甲骨文公司) project in Saline, “The Barn”, is finished, it will consume more power than a midsize city(耗电量超过中型城市).
要想找到新数据中心的所在地，只需寻找起重机。在密歇根州萨林镇，大约十几台起重机高耸于田野之上，方圆数英里内都能看见。另一个线索是路上络绎不绝的混凝土搅拌车，它们轰鸣着来回穿梭。当OpenAI和甲骨文在萨林的项目“谷仓”完工后，其耗电量将超过一座中型城市。
Beside it is the Rustic Glen Golf Club, where a few locals are enthusiastic(热情的) about the project. “They’ve been talking to us, and they’re going to do a lot of nice things for us,” says a cashier. The data-centre developers have bought the club and have promised to inject cash(注入资金). Fred, a farmer standing atop a tractor across the road, offers a more typical reaction: “There’s nothing good I can say about it…that was a beautiful piece of farmland, and they destroyed it.”(弗雷德，一位站在马路对面拖拉机上的农民，给出了更典型的反应：“我说不出它有什么好……那曾是一片美丽的农田，他们把它毁了。”) Drinkers at a nearby brewery say the same, a little more politely, and grouse(抱怨) that the golfers were paid off(被收买).
数据中心旁边是乡村格伦高尔夫俱乐部，少数当地人对该项目充满热情。“他们一直在和我们沟通，而且会为我们做很多好事，”一位收银员说。数据中心的开发商已经买下了俱乐部，并承诺注入资金。马路对面，站在拖拉机上的农民弗雷德则给出了更典型的反应：“我说不出它有什么好……那曾是一片美丽的农田，他们把它毁了。”附近啤酒厂的酒客们说法类似，只是措辞稍微客气些，并抱怨高尔夫球手们被收买了。
Across America, data centres are popping up(涌现) at startling(惊人的) speed. Since last November more money has been spent building data centres—not including the expensive chips inside them—than new offices (see chart 1). President Donald Trump has warned that places opposed to data centres risk becoming “backwards and poor”, but Republican candidates are trying to be more attuned(适应的；熟悉的) to voters like Fred. In Michigan Mike Rogers, a Republican Senate candidate, supports a pause on building(暂停建设). Such moves may be too late. Our analysis of polling data suggests that, as anxiety over data centres grows, the projects seem to be pushing voters towards Democrats.(我们对民调数据的分析表明，随着对数据中心的焦虑加剧，这些项目似乎正将选民推向民主党。)
在全美各地，数据中心正以惊人的速度涌现。自去年11月以来，用于建设数据中心的资金——不包括内部昂贵的芯片——已超过新建办公楼的投资（见图1）。唐纳德·特朗普总统警告说，反对数据中心的地方可能会变得“落后和贫穷”，但共和党候选人正试图更贴近像弗雷德这样的选民。在密歇根州，共和党参议员候选人迈克·罗杰斯支持暂停建设。这些举动可能为时已晚。我们对民调数据的分析表明，随着对数据中心的焦虑加剧，这些项目似乎正将选民推向民主党。
