Would you give up real Christmas trees to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers? That’s what one Fox Business host recommended in the run-up to Christmas.
During a discussion about a proposed AI energy project affecting a Christmas tree farm in Mount Airy, MD, host Dagen McDowell suggested that tree growers should accommodate the needs of AI data centers, even if it negatively impacts farms in the process. “That’s the very nature of a growing economy. Everybody needs to get on board,” McDowell said before dropping this bomb: “You know what: buy a fake tree.”
The controversial comment sparked outrage on social media as local farmers warned the project could cost them millions of dollars in land and business. “They’re trying to blame AI – if it’s not AI, it’s something else. It’s called growth and development of business,” McDowell insisted.
She may as well have added “bah humbug.” Where’s Tiny Tim when you need him?
Real Christmas Trees Matter
Real Christmas trees are a deeply rooted American tradition that has been cherished for a couple of centuries. The first Christmas trees in America were decorated by German settlers in the early 1800s, and by the 1850s, trees were sold commercially. President Franklin Pierce is often credited with putting up the first White House Christmas tree in 1853.
At first, Americans followed the lead of Europeans, whose Christmas trees were about four feet tall. But that changed by the 1890s, when the faithful embraced floor-to-ceiling trees, transforming the tradition into something unmistakably American.
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