Debate teams from Valparaiso and Chesterton high schools will debate the pros and cons of data centers Monday.
The Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group is sponsoring the debate at 6:15 p.m. Monday at the Porter County Administration Building. The audience is invited to a Q&A session afterward at Uncle Menny’s Greek Pizza.
“We strive to build appreciation of the importance of debating environmental issues, to see both sides of an argument and to recognize the talent of our teams,” Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group Walt Breitinger said. “The students appreciate the chance to demonstrate their skills and move others to sharpen their own. Those who attend are reliably in awe of the abilities displayed by these award-winning debaters.”
Data centers are flocking to Northwest Indiana, offering multibillion-dollar investments that would be a boon to local government coffers while requiring massive amounts of electrical generation. NIPSCO has created a spinoff company, GenCo, to handle generation of new power for data centers and similar energy hogs.
Environmentalists have expressed concerns about a number of issues involving massive data centers, which provide cloud storage for consumers.
The debate is the latest in a series that has focused in the past on environmental issues, including genetically modified organisms, the XL pipeline, alternative fuels, poverty vs. the environment, fracking, offshore drilling, factory faming, carbon tax as a means of reducing pollution, single-use plastics, fast fashion and mitigation vs. adaptation as the best strategy for dealing with climate change.
The Chesterton debate team will be coached by Josh Coots, and Valparaiso by Heather Beach.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
