I wouldn’t be so frustrated if there had been even a minimal attempt to explain how Mr. Wonderful’s big beautiful data center would benefit Utahns. But there wasn’t. There wasn’t even the pretense of one. Gov. Cox, whose best idea to combat drought has been begging us to pray for rain, has made no substantive effort to address public concerns about the allocation of our shared resources.
The interests of the state and the public do not always align, but to disregard public sentiment entirely is deeply misguided. If this project is to succeed, it requires some meaningful effort to earn public buy-in. So why hasn’t there been one?
Instead, the project has been carried forward with a tone of condescension — driven by elites who seem to believe they can act without accountability. Utah can and should be a place that welcomes entrepreneurship and development. But that cannot come at the cost of exhausting our most precious natural resources, including the critically endangered Great Salt Lake.
Abram Berry, Millcreek