Maine nonprofits have joined more than 200 environmental groups urging Congress to put a national moratorium on new data centers built to serve the artificial intelligence industry.

In a Monday letter , the groups say the country needs time to develop adequate regulations to protect the environment and human health from the centers' potential impacts.

"The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation," wrote the groups, including Defend our Health, Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine and Alliance of Maine Health Professionals for Climate Action.

The organizations cited the centers' massive demand for water and energy

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