A coalition of environmental groups is urging the Trump administration to scrutinize the cumulative impacts of efforts to launch more than a million data centers into orbit, citing risks to human health and the climate.
DarkSky International, Environment America and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility are specifically requesting that the Federal Communications Commission conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement before licensing any of the radio frequency spectrum needed to transmit information between the floating artificial intelligence factories and the planet.
Environmental law firm Earthjustice filed the coalition’s petition Wednesday. The agency didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The request comes as billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are racing to send miles-long data centers into orbit. There are already 15,000 active satellites and several thousand more defunct ones circling the Earth, according to the petition.
