Social Change & Science Commentary

Death by Data Center By: Will Murdoch

Virginia houses the highest concentration of the Data Centers of anywhere on the planet. There are already over 300 of these structures built across four counties in Northern Virginia, and with the continued development of artificial intelligence, this number is only growing. As the endless demand for more data centers grows, the stress these structures place on their area increases, and the dissenting voices of the people affected by them grows louder, the developers of these gargantuan temples to machine learning have turned their eyes towards greener pastures.  Like a creeping fungus of concrete and silicon, the march of the data centers has turned southward. Now they lie on our very own proverbial doorstep: Albemarle county. 

But first, here are a few statistics about these immense organs of our future AI overlords. A data center is a large structure that houses the computing machinery that supports the internet and artificial intelligence networks. Racks upon racks of high-tech processors and storage units provide the hardware for the digital world. Their functioning requires immense amounts of electricity, and as a result the machines get very hot. To avoid being damaged, they must be cooled by complex networks that use liquid water running through pipes to carry away the heat produced by the machinery. Herein lies the most pressing and visible impact of data centers: because they are so large and produce so much heat, they require immense amounts of water which is drawn from the local water supply. A large data center can consume 5 million gallons of water per day, which roughly equals the daily usage of a city of 50,000 people. For context, the Charlottesville/Albemarle area has a population of roughly 160,000 and uses between 10 and 12 million gallons of water per day. It’s estimated that every 100-word AI chatbot response uses around half a liter of water. Keep in mind that an estimated 120 million people use ChatGPT daily. 

Additionally, due to their insatiable appetite for electricity, data centers place immense stress on the energy grid. Even the smallest data centers consume roughly 1-5 megawatts (MW) per year. To put that in perspective, one MW is enough to power six hundred average US homes for a year. Nearly all projected energy demand through 2045 is attributable to data centers, and this is impeding the ability to meet Virginia’s climate goals, with Dominion Energy proposing building more fossil fuel plants to make up for the increased demand. When the grid fails to appease their insatiable hunger, data centers power themselves with diesel generators, which are extremely noisy and significantly affect local air quality. To crown it all, much of the expense of data center development is being passed down onto the Virginian taxpayer, with AI companies receiving billions in tax exemptions and the cost of infrastructure upgrades such as transmission lines being included in our energy bills. 

But how does this relate to Albemarle County? Currently there are no data centers within the county, but they are being built nearby, for example in Louisa and Harrisonburg. However, developers have been eyeing up various locations such as the North Fork industrial park for potential data center development. Currently the county Board of Supervisors requires a Special Use Permit (SUP) for any center larger than 40,000 square feet to be built. This permit is only granted after a thorough assessment of the impact the data center will have on the local residents, water supply, and air quality, as well as requiring transparency between the developer’s goals and the people affected. However, in recent months the Board of Supervisors considered replacing the current ordinance with one to allow data center construction by-right. This change would alienate community members from any review process and undo most of the rules in place that hold developers accountable. 

Fortunately, for the moment, the voice of the people has effected change. The proposal to change the SUP ordinance was met with widespread community push-back, and as a result the Board of Supervisors has decided to suspend the process of changing the ordinance. This is an excellent example of community advocacy having an impact. By-right development is part of what allowed data centers to become so prevalent in Northern Virginia, and the members of the Charlottesville-Albemarle community have made it clear that this is not something we will allow to happen here. However, we must remain vigilant. While the paused ordinance is a victory, it may come up again as Supervisors Andrews and McKeel are not running for reelection and will be replaced this coming year. The power of community voices has been demonstrated, and through continued vigilance and action, we can keep up the fight for a healthy future for our area. 

In Defense of Open Meeting By: Hudson Lawrence 

Open meeting– I don’t know if there’s a more controversial tradition here at Tandem. Every other month or so, Tandem’s Upper School gathers in a misbegotten forum to share whatever ideas spring to mind. While some may argue that it wastes time better spent on other topics, I believe it gives students a rare opportunity to voice their opinions and share their ideas with other peers and faculty.

“It’s useful but people kind of treat it as a joke. I think it’s important, though.” says Will Murdoch, a senior, and Mark Goldstein agrees with his sentiment, stating that he “Think[s] it’s essential; it’s one of the few things that we do together, and we’ve done since the beginning.  It feels very Tandem.” 

Mark’s point is right. We have been holding open meetings since the school opened. It is a tradition that has been augmented by our newly-opened Senate suggestion box, two things which allow for  students to bring real change to our school, although admittedly a vast number of these suggestions are somewhat futile. Though, there are some upsides even to that. Compared to the other community time options that are offered by our school, open meetings are a hilarious and enjoyable option for students. From hearing a Tandem Earth devotee preaching about bringing back metal forks to whomever seems to have the “totally original” idea of getting a campus vending machine for the twentieth time in a row, I think that open meeting provides a much-needed break from whatever important, but a bit doom-and-gloom advisory or grade-wide discussion the administration has planned this week (We love you, Jocelyn, but there’s only so much that can be said about kindness). 

That said, not everybody appreciates the free-form, extremely open nature of our extremely open meetings. “Open meeting.. I feel like open meetings are fun, but nothing gets done. People point out an issue that Tandem’s already seen, but nothing’s done about it,” says Tyler Broomall, the one junior who really likes talking about colleges in morning meeting. And, at least in my opinion, he’s right. While it’s definitely entertaining, the way that open meeting is set up mostly encourages students to argue over their personal beliefs. Further, the opinions that students bring up during meetings often push the Senate agenda off track as arguments arise rather than actual solutions. Maybe if we had them more often, time would allow for a wider range of discussion topics instead of having the same things brought up over and over again. But I think that, as they stand now, Open Meetings are defining events that the whole school can look forward to with a unique mixture of anticipation and dread and are in fact additive to the school as a whole. 

The Science of Sleep By: Fletcher Levy

Everyone knows how important sleep is. It’s been told to you ever since you were little. Teachers chastise you when you show up to class with bags under your eyes and an aloof expression. Parents scold you when you tell them that you were up until 2 am watching AI videos of different spreads on toast. But what even is sleep? What does your brain do to invite the sandman into your mind, and when does it tell you that the thing you currently want most in the world is to lie your head down on your APUSH notes and fall asleep in Jason's class? It’s a complex system, with multiple different parts working in unison to make sure you get the rest you need!

The hypothalamus is a small structure that affects whether you feel sleepy or when you feel awake. Inside the hypothalamus is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or the SCN. The SCN is a group of millions of cells that process the light exposure from your eyes. This is part of the reason why most people get sleepy when it gets dark out, because the SCN gets signals from your eyes that there’s no more light and you need to start winding down. People who have damage to their hypothalamus often sleep on and off throughout the day because they’ve messed up their light and dark schedule, also known as part of their circadian rhythm. 

The next part of your brain is the brainstem. Your brainstem is made up of various materials that control whether you're awake or asleep. It’s in charge of keeping you awake and alert, as well as controlling involuntary functions like facial expressions, breathing, blood pressure, and balance. These activities happen without you having to think about them or actively doing them. When the hypothalamus sends out chemicals that tell your body to start going to sleep, the brainstem slows down or stops some of these activities. This is why your breathing slows, your muscles relax, and you don’t react or move around much in your sleep. 

Another part is the thalamus. The thalamus receives information from your senses and sends it to the cerebral cortex, which is the place where your brain processes things from your day. When your body is in the beginning stages of sleep, the thalamus quiets. When you reach deep sleep, or REM sleep, the thalamus continues to send signals to your cerebral cortex. This is how you get dreams. 

The pineal gland and the basal forebrain both release chemicals that make you sleep. Your basal forebrain releases adenosine, which is the chemical that makes you tired. This chemical can be counteracted by caffeine. The pineal gland releases melatonin, which works in tandem with the hypothalamus to make you go to sleep when the lights go out, and helps manage your circadian rhythm. 

All these parts work in a delicate pattern each night, putting you to sleep and getting you the rest you need!!