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‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre

Attributed to The Guardian. ENC is not independently verifying these facts.

‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre

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The Guardian is currently the only allowlisted source on the desk for this item.

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  • Whether the original outlet issues a correction or update.
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The Guardian reports the following. ENC is republishing it as an attributed briefing, not as independently confirmed fact. If this item is false or incomplete, the responsibility sits with The Guardian, which released it. Company ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms’ latest push Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth. Before Google’s arrival a few months ago, an estimated quarter of a million trees occupied the 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland. Now they are all gone. After the tech company illegally stripped the entire area to build a datacentre – taking even the top soil with it – all that remains is a vast expanse of mud indented with the trail marks of machinery, puddles and mounds of earth, roots and branches. Residents say that brown water flowing off the site is going into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River. Continue reading... Original link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/oct/22/finland-google-felling-trees-datacentre

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