Rita Reich 在过去一个月里，在位于阿尔伯塔省庞诺卡县的农场接待了 100 多位邻居，抗议拟在附近建设的数据中心。
Rita Reich has hosted more than 100 of her neighbours at her farm in Ponoka County, Alta., over the last month to protest a data centre proposed just down the road.
“我只是不想让它进入我们的农业社区。我认为这里不是建设它的地方，”种植谷物、养殖牛只的 Reich 告诉 CBC。她说，她担心潜在的噪音、环境影响和农田损失。
"I just don't want it in our agricultural community. I just don't think that this is the place to put it,” Reich, who farms grain and raises cattle, told CBC’s . She says she’s worried about the potential noise, environmental impact and loss of farm land.
Janet Brown Opinion Research 受 CBC News 委托进行的民意调查发现，许多阿尔伯塔人与她持有相同的怀疑态度。这位民调专家和另一位政治专家均表示，该省迎接数据中心“淘金热”可能会疏远丹尼尔·史密斯省长的基本盘。
Janet Brown Opinion Research found in polling commissioned by CBC News that many Albertans share her skepticism. Both the pollster and a second political expert say the province welcoming a data centre goldrush risks alienating Premier Danielle Smith's base. "I think this could be a real sleeper issue for Danielle Smith," Brown said in an interview.
“我认为这可能会成为丹尼尔·史密斯的一个‘沉睡议题’，”Brown 在采访中说。
"We've been so focused on other things, but AI is really heating up as a big issue, and most Albertans are concerned." The polling found only seven per cent of respondents strongly support the development of AI data centres, and 31 per cent strongly oppose them.
“我们一直过度关注其他事情，但人工智能正迅速升温成为一个大议题，大多数阿尔伯塔人都很担忧。”民调显示，只有 7% 的受访者强烈支持发展 AI 数据中心，而 31% 强烈反对。
Some 26 per cent mostly oppose them, but believe some should be built. The resistance to data centres crosses geographical and partisan lines, the polling suggests.
约 26% 的受访者主要持反对态度，但认为应建设部分数据中心。民调显示，对数据中心的抵制跨越了地域和党派界限。
Top concerns include possible impact on the environment and electricity costs, noise, loss of farmland, and the effect of AI on society.
主要担忧包括对环境和电费的潜在影响、噪音、农田流失，以及 AI 对社会的影响。
Opposition has emerged as the province becomes ground zero for new data-centre development in Canada, with cheap natural gas and a government actively trying to grow the sector, including taking trips to Silicon Valley to court big tech firms.
随着该省成为加拿大新建数据中心发展的“核心地带”，反对声浪应运而生。得益于廉价天然气和政府积极推动该行业发展（包括赴硅谷游说大型科技企业），如果所有在建项目全部落地，阿尔伯塔将拥有全国 90% 的数据中心。
If all projects in the works go ahead, Alberta would be home to 90 per cent of the country’s data centres. At one of the local town halls held by the province on data centres, Reich said tensions ran high.
在省政府举办的一次关于数据中心的市政厅会议上，Reich 表示气氛紧张。
“People … came there very unhappy and they didn't get their questions answered adequately. So they left even more unhappy,” she said.
“人们……怀着极度不满的心情而来，却没能得到令人满意的答复。所以他们离开时甚至更加不满，”她说。
“So I think that the government needs to address this more straight on.” Eleni Iskierski, press secretary for Alberta’s Technology Minister Nate Glubish, said the government takes concerns seriously. Feedback from the town halls will be used to create province-wide standards on data centres, Iskierski says.
“所以我认为政府需要更直接地正视这个问题。”阿尔伯塔省科技部长内特·格鲁比什的新闻秘书埃莱尼·伊斯基尔斯基表示，政府高度重视这些担忧。伊斯基尔斯基说，市政厅会议的反馈意见将用于制定全省范围内的数据中心标准。
“So I think that the government needs to address this more straight on.” Eleni Iskierski, press secretary for Alberta’s Technology Minister Nate Glubish, said the government takes concerns seriously. Feedback from the town halls will be used to create province-wide standards on data centres, Iskierski says. Voter’s remorse Reich says she is a staunch conservative who still has hope the government will change course.
选民的悔恨 赖希表示，她是一位坚定的保守派，依然抱有希望，期待政府能改弦更张。
But Trevor Harrison, a retired political sociologist at the University Lethbridge, says not all voters will be so forgiving.
但莱斯布里奇大学退休政治社会学家特雷弗·哈里森认为，并非所有选民都会如此宽容。
“It will take a lot to shake people loose from Danielle Smith, who seems to [be] kind of a Teflon political figure … but her support is in the rural areas,” Harrison said.
“要让人们不再支持丹妮尔·史密斯需要付出很大代价，她似乎是个‘特氟龙’式的政治人物……但她的支持基础在农村地区，”哈里森说。
“There's been no deliberation, they're just going for it. That poses real risks. If it goes south, the government can't blame anybody else.” Over in Sturgeon County north of Edmonton, the scale of the projects — and backlash — are on another level. Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, is building a massive one-gigawatt data centre.
“完全没有经过审议，他们就是一意孤行。这带来了真正的风险。如果搞砸了，政府没法怪罪任何别人。”在埃德蒙顿以北的斯特奇安县，项目的规模——以及反弹声浪——完全是另一个层面。Facebook和Instagram背后的科技巨头Meta正在建设一个庞大的1吉瓦数据中心。对一些人来说，这足以让他们改变投票意向。
“There's been no deliberation, they're just going for it. That poses real risks. If it goes south, the government can't blame anybody else.” Over in Sturgeon County north of Edmonton, the scale of the projects — and backlash — are on another level. Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, is building a massive one-gigawatt data centre. For some, it’s enough to flip their vote. “I did vote conservative, and I regret that decision now with this whole AI centre going in,” said Tammy Ranta, who’s lived in the county for 30 years and has an acreage about eight kilometres from the Meta site.
“我投了保守党，但现在因为这个AI中心的落户，我后悔那个决定了，”住在该县30年、在距离Meta选址约8公里处拥有庄园的塔米·兰塔说。
The $13 billion project is Meta’s first data centre in Canada and will be powered by a new natural gas plant that could eventually produce more electricity than what the City of Edmonton uses.
这个耗资130亿美元的项目是Meta在加拿大的首个数据中心，将由一座新的天然气发电厂供电，该电厂未来发电量可能超过埃德蒙顿市的用电量。
Ranta said she’s worried about what the project’s impact will mean for her dogs, horses and llama. And it doesn’t sit well with her that a big American tech company is setting up shop.
兰塔表示，她担心该项目的影响会波及她的狗、马和羊驼。而且，一家美国大型科技公司在此落脚，让她很不舒服。
“We moved out to the country so that we could have the fresh air and we can have peace and quiet,” she said. “I'm hoping that it'll stay that way, but I'm not sure.” More backlash than COVID The Meta project has attracted attention far beyond county lines.
“我们搬到乡下是为了呼吸新鲜空气、享受宁静，”她说。“我希望能保持现状，但我不确定。” 反弹声浪超越新冠疫情 Meta项目引发的关注早已超越县界。
Sturgeon County’s Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said in the nine years she’s been in office, she hasn’t seen anything like it.
斯特金县市长阿兰娜·纳蒂乌表示，在她任职的九年里，从未见过这种情况。
“The pushback, the concern, the rhetoric, the threats far outweigh anything that we saw during COVID — so that is saying something,” Hanatiw said.
“反对声、担忧、言辞激烈的批评、威胁，远远超过我们在新冠疫情期间看到的任何情况——这说明问题很严重，”纳蒂乌说。
Hnatiw stood alongside Smith and Glubish celebrating the Meta project when it was first announced.
当Meta项目首次宣布时，纳蒂乌曾与史密斯和格卢比什一同站台庆祝。
Now despite the anger, Hnatiw is still supportive, pointing out the site is inside an established heavy industrial zone. She said at a time when municipalities are cash-strapped, projects like this can help pay for the roads, water and emergency services residents rely on.
尽管愤怒情绪高涨，纳蒂乌仍表示支持，并指出该选址位于既定的重工业区内。她表示，在市政财政拮据之际，此类项目有助于支付居民赖以生存的道路、供水和应急服务费用。
Meta didn’t respond to a request for comment but has previously said the project will use less water than a typical Alberta golf course and will create 3,000 jobs during construction.
Meta未回复置评请求，但此前曾表示，该项目用水量将少于阿尔伯塔省一座典型高尔夫球场，并将在建设期间创造3000个就业岗位。
Hnatiw acknowledges that data centre development represents a lot of change for this community at once. It’s hard to ask for trust in technology in rural areas that have not had much access to it.
纳蒂乌承认，数据中心的开发给该社区带来了瞬息万变的巨大冲击。很难要求那些鲜少接触技术的农村地区民众信任技术。
“You've had poor cell phone coverage, maybe not able to get reliable internet at home, and then seven or eight kilometers away you can have an artificial intelligence enabling hyperscaler come to town.” But the resistance isn’t just aimed at Silicon Valley giants; smaller data centres are popping up all over.
“你们一直信号不好，家里可能无法获得可靠的网络，而七八公里外却能引进一家赋能人工智能的超大规模数据中心。”但抵制声浪并非仅针对硅谷巨头；小型数据中心正到处涌现。
“You've had poor cell phone coverage, maybe not able to get reliable internet at home, and then seven or eight kilometers away you can have an artificial intelligence enabling hyperscaler come to town.” But the resistance isn’t just aimed at Silicon Valley giants; smaller data centres are popping up all over.
对于彭诺卡县的丽塔·赖希来说，担忧的数据中心名为“Sunfavor Agripower Camrose Hub”，位于邻县。
For Rita Reich back in Ponoka County, the data centre of concern is called the Sunfavor Agripower Camrose Hub, in the neighbouring county.
Sunfavor董事Relax Yi Ding在致CBC的电子邮件中表示，若获批，该数据中心将由天然气供电，旨在托管第三方比特币矿场。计算机和发电机产生的热量将用于农产品加工，如烘干干草和谷物。
Sunfavor director Relax Yi Ding said in an email to CBC that, if approved, the data centre would be powered by natural gas and is designed to host third-party bitcoin mines. The heat generated by the computers and power generators would be used for agricultural processing such as drying out hay and grain.
卡泰利耶和她的邻居们已报名参加阿尔伯塔公用事业委员会的听证会，作为介入者。该团体部分受到阿尔伯塔省奥尔兹市组织者的启发，后者叫停了一个拟在市内建设的1.4吉瓦项目。
Catellier and her neighbours have signed up to participate in the Alberta Utility Commission hearing as intervenors. The group was partially inspired by organizers in Olds, Alta., who put a stop to a 1.4 gigawatt project proposed within town limits.
丁某还写道，该公司尊重居民参与该过程的权利，并承诺提供信息和回应关切。方法论
Ding also wrote that the company respects residents’ right to participate in the process and it is committed to providing information and responding to concerns. Methodology