‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre
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.
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The GuardianSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-23. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.