Data centre lobby declares Sally Rooney a 'hypocrite' for focus on printed word over e-books
Digital Infrastructure Ireland has accused author Sally Rooney of hypocrisy for opposing data center expansion while her books generate significant carbon emissions through print publishing. The industry group argues that Rooney's reliance on physical books contradicts her environmental stance against the electricity consumption of data centers.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing tension between environmental activism and the carbon footprint of traditional media versus digital infrastructure.
IRELAND’S INDUSTRY GROUP for data centres has lashed out at writer Sally Rooney for her opposition to the sector’s expansion, calling her a “hypocrite” for her use of print publishing.
The best-selling author was a prominent objector to a data centre in Killala, Co Mayo, which planning authorities eventually rejected, although on grounds related to a separate objector’s appeal.
In her submission on the Mayo proposal, Rooney called the data centres a “disaster” for their “wasteful consumption of electricity”, as she argued that some estimates suggest online ads that rely on data centres account for between 50% and 80% of internet data usage.
This stance has raised the ire of Digital Infrastructure Ireland chief executive Ronan Kelly, who has launched a broadside against Rooney over her opposition to data centres.
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