@DougWahl1 These three are most at risk for war crimes, so they will try to protect themselves from prosecution from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
An 86 year old Pennsylvania farmer turned down a 15 million dollar offer from AI data center developers in order to preserve his family land.
For more than 60 years Mervin Raudabaugh has worked his 261 acre farm in Cumberland County Pennsylvania. The property is where he raised his family and maintained a thriving wildlife habitat. When developers approached him with an offer of more than 60 000 dollars per acre totaling over 15 million dollars he chose to reject it.
I was not interested in destroying my farms Raudabaugh said. Instead he sold his development rights to a land preservation program for just under 1.9 million dollars. This decision permanently protects the farmland woodlands and wetlands from future development.
His choice reflects a growing conflict across rural America as tech companies seek land for large scale AI data centers. These projects demand vast amounts of space electricity and water often leading to local resistance over the loss of agricultural land and environmental impacts.
While the financial incentives are substantial for many farming families Raudabaugh hopes his example encourages others to safeguard Americas farmland. For him protecting the land where future generations can live and enjoy its natural beauty was far more valuable than any monetary offer.