HHN is an online directory, network, and online events calendar for leaders working to protect their communities and environment from the harms of oil & gas industry. Join for updates, to hear about our webinars series, and updates to the network.
Stop Bad Data Centers (Issue #15)
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Hi Reader, A few days ago I posted a request in the network for photos or examples of clever messaging that communities are using to organize against data centers and got a couple entertaining replies. Thanks to Lynn Handlin for sharing this photo of the World on Fire Department Fire Truck wearing a data center “costume.” We are told that the outfit is complete with annoying sound effects. The truck was accompanied by ERpdx’s theater troop, Zany Bits, also dressed as data centers. 😜 I also came across this video from a North Carolina protest which included songs, skits, and a drag performance as part of the demonstration. Well done everyone! Keep up the good work, keep the creativity flowing, and please send more photos of big signs, big messaging, and big diva energy. Now for your bi-weekly data center update. Click here to view this email in your browser. This bi-weekly newsletter is a new project from Halt the Harm Network. For more regular updates and meetups on data center organizing, request access to the Stop Bad Data Centers group inside the HHN community space. What We're Following The Disempowering Politics of "Inevitability": Data Centers and LLMs as "the future"Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson are the media analysts and hosts behind Citations Needed, a podcast on the intersection of media, PR, and power. In this episode, they dig in to the history of “inevitability” as a PR messaging strategy, showing how the same scripts have been used for decades to discourage the public from taking action by reinforcing the myth of progress. Today, that same script is at play in the fight over data center build-out. FracTracker’s August Data Center SnapshotThanks again to the FracTracker team and our colleague Mia Glover for putting together this update. This month’s Snapshot documented 33 newly added facilities and 62 other project updates. Check out the full August Snapshot here. Or explore data center projects around the U.S. or near you on the FracTracker interactive map. Investigation: We Saw What Data Centers Don’t Want You to SeeA recent episode of PBS’s Overview used thermal drones to expose pollution over the Stargate data center in Abiliene, TX. Reporters, scientists, and community members have been using thermal imaging to track emissions from turbines and keep operators accountable. Fracking Industry Executives Are Salivating Over the AI Data Center BoomNatural gas already provides more than 40 percent of the electricity used by data centers, and industry leaders see the build-out as a major new source of revenue. The resulting boom threatens to deepen methane emissions and local pollution, with rural, low-income, and predominantly Black communities exposed to the highest environmental and health risks. The Trump administration, whose cabinet is stacked with fossil fuel executives like Energy Secretary Chris Wright, is expediting fossil fuel-powered projects while sidelining wind and solar, as Big Tech companies retreat from climate commitments and embrace gas-fired generation. Read more about the connection between fracking and data center development here. Upcoming Events Tracking the Data Center Industry: Insights from Southwestern PennsylvaniaFracTracker Alliance partnered with four Pittsburgh-area students and recent graduates to investigate 12 proposed data centers across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Over nine weeks, the team attended public meetings, reviewed permits and zoning rules, filed Right-to-Know requests, mapped potentially affected sites, and spoke with residents. This webinar will share findings and updates on the Homer City Energy Campus, Springdale Data Center, Upper Burrell Data Center, and Project Phoenix. Attendees will learn about behind-the-meter power, community organizing, moratoriums, local ordinance updates, and the ongoing need for greater transparency from developers and local governments. There will be something helpful for organizers everywhere, even if you don’t live in SW PA. So please join us! How Data Centers Use Water: Cooling, Consumption, Wastewater & What Communities Need to KnowWater has become one of the biggest concerns for communities facing data center development, but understanding how much water a facility will actually use, and what happens to that water afterward isn't always straightforward. During this workshop with Amy Adams of the Southeast Climate and Energy Network, we’ll take a look at how data center cooling systems work, the permits communities should be watching for, and the potential impacts on aquifers, watersheds, and local water and wastewater infrastructure. Event Recap We’ve been light on events the last couple months, so no new recaps to share this week. But you can always check out the archive, where you’ll find 100s of recordings of previous events, workshops, and webinars—all searchable by topic. We’ll have more live events coming up soon once the busyness of summer starts winding down. Stay tuned! Closing Comment If your community is getting creative, please send it our way! We want to see your billboards, signs, art, theater, music, memes, and any other fun or innovative protest strategies you’re trying. Let’s celebrate what’s working and help good ideas travel to our friends and neighbors! More soon, Elissa |
Halt the Harm Network
HHN is an online directory, network, and online events calendar for leaders working to protect their communities and environment from the harms of oil & gas industry. Join for updates, to hear about our webinars series, and updates to the network.
Hi Reader, This month, we’re celebrating the hard work of leaders in Louisiana: after more than four years of community opposition, a proposed blue hydrogen and ammonia complex with carbon capture in the River Parishes has been cancelled. Carbon capture is a process that uses large, complex industrial equipment to capture some of the carbon dioxide from an industrial source, then move it by pipeline for storage underground. It’s often marketed as a climate fix, but can actually cause a host...
Hi Reader, I’ve been thinking a lot about farming these past couple weeks. The more we look at where data center projects are going, the harder it is to separate the build-out from a much longer history of extraction from rural places. That history begins with plantations. Plantation agriculture turned huge swaths of land toward the production of commodities and wealth for distant markets, relying on enslaved labor and extracting tremendous value from the land. After slavery was abolished,...
Hi Reader, A new EPA-proposed a rule change would allow state environmental agencies to eliminate public participation on most air permits for data centers. The majority of data center air permits cover diesel backup generators and on-site turbines. They are classified as “minor” sources of pollution because they don’t emit 250 tons per year or more of any single regulated pollutant. Right now, federal rules guarantee notice that a permit is coming, and a 30-day window to comment. EPA is...