As presented, that dude's story as makes little sense to anyone familiar with the immigration process. There is more to this story, I wish the reporter would just tell it.
Decarbonization needs to happen anyway - that statement is issued as if its fact. A realist would would posit that energy independence, or energy security and its underlying national security implications should be arrived at by any means necessary, carbon or non-carbon based.
Concerns about inconsequential water usage at datacenters is a far more welcome problem for the the industry than the other real issues they could be dealing with. People distracted by water concerns will not notice the very real energy usage and AI ethics/practices issues.
Say what you want but the industry has figured out how to manage public perception and sentiment. Water usage problem is easy to fix, while energy usage is a far tougher nut to crack.
Federal subsidies don't stop at paying for much of the bus purchase costs, they are also paying for much of the roads and bridges the busses run on. Subsides cover of the operating costs, especially labor and energy. And at the very end, the reason most localities are able to offer free rides or very low cost rides is because federal dollars are subsidizing the final ride fares.
For better or worse the man is exposing the mindboggling scale of deindustrialization that was hidden underneath America's transition to a "knowledge economy". Decades of failed economic policy has led America to this point.
The cynic in me sees people building careers off promotion of pseudo-science, and other on the creation of content around said pseudo-science. Reminds me of string theory for some reason.
What does it mean when I get better and better at picking blues/greens on second or third attempts? Does it mean my ability to pick colors can be somehow influenced or improved?