I don't hold out much hope for them. I think they are the most interesting AI company, but I would bet they are also of the belief that the environment should be sacrificed for AI progress, as they also believe that AI will fix everything later

People actually do crowdfund that kind of thing. You just do not hear about them as much because they do not have a PR budget. But there is a basic asymmetry here. One approval can be worth millions to a single company, so spending serious money lobbying for it is a good investment. For the neighbors, the harm, which includes noise, air pollution, and lower property values, is spread across hundreds of families. Everybody loses a little, even if the total harm is huge, so it is much harder to raise the same money. That is the classic collective action problem And residents are not lobbying for a handout. They are asking the government not to let a company profit by putting its costs on people who get none of the upside

"When billionaires do it, people get angry - but when the people do it, people don't complain! It's like this is a democracy or something!"

Honestly, what are you doing? Like, why do you choose to defend billionaires with your time? Were you abused or something as a kid? Do you just like BDSM? Are you perhaps a fascist or against democracy?

...also, just the idea that "more money in government" is the answer. You're just full of bad ideas. Clearly a big fan of the Capitalist mindset.