The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) wants the XAI Supercomatory project of Elon Musk to Memphis, Tennessee, was closed due to environmental concerns.
The organization published a letter on Thursday to managers of the health department of the county of Shelby and to the commissioners of Memphis Light Gas and Water, NBC News reported on Friday.
The NAACP personally called Musk, saying that “the richest man in the world” is trying to “compromise the health” of black communities:
“Being the richest man in the world does not give you the right to pollute black communities and compromise the health of its residents,” said the president and chief executive officer of NAACP, Derrick Johnson, in a statement at NBC News. “We urge the health service to intervene immediately.”
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In a previous statement at NBC News, XAI said that “its operations comply with all applicable laws” and that it “works in collaboration with county and city officials, EPA staff and community leaders concerning everything that affects Memphis”.
The NBC article also noted that XAI had been criticized for having explained methane gas turbines which would emented pollutants.
Look – Trump: Doge will continue after Elon must return to his businesses:
The NAACP questioned the permits required for turbines under the Clean Air Act. According to the report:
Environmental groups and NAACP think that turbines needed a license under the Clean Act Act; The city’s health service, the mayor and the chamber of commerce said that permits were not required for the first year of use of turbines. XAI, which now requires a permit for 15 permanent turbines, said that they would be equipped with pollution controls and are only used to save once other energy options are available.
The site is close to the Boxtown community, Action News 5 reported on Sunday, noting that many black Americans live there. The NBC report said that the neighbors feared that the project harvested the region’s poor air quality more.
When Action News 5 reported in June 2024 that Musk came to Memphis to build “the largest supercomputer in the world”, a journalist of the point of sale said that it was an “investment of several billion dollars, bringing jobs and major money to our beloved city”:
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhoq4npie
The mayor of Memphis, Paul Young (D), recently told NBC News that the project “represents a tremendous opportunity, an opportunity for us to bring our economy to the next level”:
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ru4DV2W8Q
The project, named Colossus, came online at the end of 2024 to work on the cat’s game known as Grok. Although the NAACP has conceded that everything is for research and innovation, the organization wants limits with regard to the alleged health problems of the surrounding communities.
