center's | Environment.org

With community opposition growing, data center backers are going on a full-scale public relations blitz. Around Christmas in Virginia, which boasts the highest concentration of data centers in the country, one advertisement seemed to air nonstop. “Virginia’s data centers are … investing billions in clean energy,” a voiceover intoned over sweeping shots of shiny solar panels. “Creating good-paying jobs” — cue men in yellow safety vests and hard hats — “and building a better energy future.”

The ad was sponsored by Virginia Connects, an industry-affiliated group that spent at least $ 700,000 on digital marketing in the state in fiscal year 2024. The spot emphasized that data centers are paying their own energy costs — framing this as a buffer that might help lower residential bills — and portrayed the facilities as engines of local job creation.

The reality is …

Data centers gobble Earth’s resources. What if we took them to space instead?

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| Pollution

The companies frantically building and leasing data centers are well aware that they’re straining grids, driving emissions, and guzzling water. The electricity demand of AI data centers in particular could increase as much as 165 percent by 2030. Over half of the energy powering these sprawling facilities comes from fossil fuels, threatening to reverse progress toward addressing the climate crisis.

Some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence say they have a solution: Just stick these colossal computer clusters in space. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told manosphere podcaster Theo Vonn that he considers a massive expansion of data centers inevitable. “I do guess a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time,” he said. (This is not, in fact, inevitable, but the result of unfathomably wealthy companies choosing to invest unfathomably large sums of money. …

Comment: NSAC Responds to Termination of Regional Food Business Centers

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| Sustainability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Comment: NSAC Responds to Termination of Regional Food Business Centers

Washington, DC, July 15, 2025 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following comment, attributable to Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, in response to the termination of cooperative agreements with Regional Food Business Centers.

“About a month after the Trump administration released the Farmers First agenda, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made yet another decision to prematurely end multi-year agreements that are effectively serving the small family farms the administration claims to be the focus of their agenda. The recent termination of agreements with twelve Regional Food Business Centers comes as another blow to rural communities who benefit greatly from USDA business development resources. The President’s budget has also proposed eliminating funding for

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Data centers are building their own gas power plants in Texas

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| Pollution

Abigail Lindsey worries the days of peace and quiet might be nearing an end at the rural, wooded property where she lives with her son. On the old ranch across the street, developers want to build an expansive complex of supercomputers for artificial intelligence, plus a large, private power plant to run it.

The plant would be big enough to power a major city, with 1,200 megawatts of planned generation capacity fueled by West Texas shale gas. It will only supply the new data center, and possibly other large data centers recently proposed down the road.

“It just sucks,” Lindsey said, sitting on her deck in the shade of tall oak trees outside the city of New Braunfels. “They’ve come in and will completely destroy our way of life: dark skies, quiet and peaceful.”

The project is one of many …

USDA Accepting Proposals for Regional Food Business Centers

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| Sustainability

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently announced the availability of $ 360 million to establish at least six new Regional Food Business Centers. This funding comes from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA), which provided significant investments to respond to and rebuild from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among its provisions, ARPA included funding for strengthening and building more resilience into our nation’s supply chains, with a focus on supporting local and regional producers and markets impacted by the pandemic.

According to the Request for Applications (RFA), the Regional Food Business Centers are envisioned to provide “coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building support to small and mid-sized farm and food businesses, with the goal of creating a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system.”

Specific goals for the Centers are …

Comment: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of Regional Food Business Centers

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| Sustainability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net

Tel. 347.563.6408

Comment: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of Regional Food Business Centers

Washington, DC, September 7, 2022 – In response to today’s announcement by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) of $ 400 million for Regional Food Business Centers, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following comment, attributable to Sophia Kruszewski, NSAC Deputy Policy Director:

“The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauds USDA’s announcement of $ 400 million to establish Regional Food Business Centers. NSAC is pleased to see that USDA is structuring this critical investment in a way that builds on existing partnerships and initiatives and prioritizes resources where they are most needed. Local and regional food systems play an essential role in keeping our communities fed and thriving, particularly amidst significant disruptions (such as the war

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