\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWillie Nelson<\/a> is speaking up against the ongoing construction of data centers across the United States. The musician released a statement on social media condemning the \u201cloud, water thieving, light polluting\u201d hubs that are \u201cinvading our land.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNelson wrote that he hails from the Texas town of Abbott and he still has \u201chome there with farmed land where I can still see stars at night. And now our community, like many others, needs to fight against data centers invading our land.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter),\u201d he continued. \u201cThe strength of rural America has never come from big industrial footprints. It comes from generations of people, open spaces, local businesses, and a connection to the land. All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn\u2019t steal farmland (where our essential shared-food is grown) and small family farmers\u2019 livelihoods, and not data centers that only destroy the environment around them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe concluded, \u201cWhoever controls food and water, controls the masses. Let\u2019s not allow our own demise or give up control over necessary resources in the U.S. and especially in Abbott.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s unclear if Nelson is targeting a specific data center near Abbott, which is south of Dallas, although there are numerous announced plans for the Dallas-Forth Worth metro area. In May, a Gallup poll<\/a> found that seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local area, with 48 percent strongly opposed. Only seven percent of people polled were strongly in favor. <\/p>\n \n\tNelson has a long history of speaking up about issues that matter to him. Last year, Nelson showed the video<\/a> for his 1986 song \u201cLiving in the Promiseland\u201d on tour in support of immigrants, and he celebrated the 40th anniversary<\/a> of Farm Aid last September. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFamily farmers are the heart of this country, and we depend on each other for good food and strong communities,\u201d Nelson said in a statement. \u201cFor 40 years, Farm Aid and our partners have stood with farmers, supporting them to stay on their land even when corporate power, bad policies and broken promises make it harder to keep going. This year, we\u2019re proud to bring Farm Aid to Minnesota to celebrate the farmers who sustain us and to fight for a food system that works for all of us. Family farmers aren\u2019t backing down, and neither are we.\u201d<\/p>\n