One Thing Leads To Another: How Ohio Tech and Energy Concerns Reflect Global Disruption
From This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro by Jeanne Destro
June 7, 2026 · 14 min
About this episode
The episode discusses how Ohioans are affected by global technology and energy disruptions, including rising gas prices and the impact of data centers and renewable energy projects.
This week's story is about the interconnected web of global technology and energy production, disruption, and politics. But more than that; it is about how Ohioans are caught up in that web, pushing back against it, trying to navigate it, and worrying about how it is affecting their everyday lives. Listen now to hear about how the lack of oil flowing from the Middle East because of the war with Iran, is affecting Ohioans with higher gas prices, and the possibility that if state and federal politicians decide to enact "gas tax holidays"; that could mean less money for much needed bridge repairs in Ohio. You'll also hear about a public hearing in the Ohio House which gave citizens the chance to speak out on what they believe will be the damaging effects of big data centers that power AI, how FirstEnergy is asking state regulators to approve rate increases over the next three years, and how they are already planning for a vast increase in the number of data centers in Ohio over the next decade. But Ohioans are not only concerned about energy-guzzling data centers. They are also worried about thousands of acres of farmland being turned into huge solar farms, as evidenced by a new…
People in this episode
Host: Jeanne Destro
Topics covered
- global technology
- energy production
- politics
- Ohio
- data centers
- solar farms
- wind energy
Keywords
- Ohio
- energy
- data centers
- gas prices
- solar farms
- wind energy
- politics
- FirstEnergy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: FirstEnergy
Places: Ohio, Middle East, Iran, Ohio Supreme Court
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