Last week, we hosted a webinar, “Protecting Local Communities from AI Data Center Impacts,” featuring our Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, Eric Weltman of Food & Water Watch, and Allison DeSario of FLX Strong. We had 166 registrants and 25% of those were local elected officials and municipal staff from across the Cayuga watershed and Finger Lakes Region.
If you missed our event, you can view the recording here. Slides detailing the potential negative impacts of the proposed TeraWulf Data Center from FLX Strong can be viewed here.
Below is a collection of resources shared by our panelists during the webinar that may be of interest to you and your networks.
Research & Reporting
· Fact sheet: The Top 10 Reasons Data Centers Must Be Stopped
· Report press release: Comprehensive report calls for a nationwide halt on new data centers
· Harvard Law School: How data centers may lead to higher electricity bills
· Bloomberg News analysis: AI data centers and electricity prices
· Study on noise and light pollution impacts on birds
Reporting on TeraWulf
· Hunterbrook investigations: TeraWulf Quietly Walks Back “Zero-Carbon” Branding; Coal, Crypto, and False Branding: Inside TeraWulf’s Greenwashing Machine
· Guest opinion by Assemblymember Anna Kelles
· Public Citizen letter on TeraWulf’s Morgantown power purchase
· Follow NoDataCenterFLX for the latest updates.
Take Action
Join over 100+ New York groups that call for the passage of the Data Center Moratorium Bill.
If you represent an organization, please consider signing this letter in support of the data center moratorium. Sign-on form for organizations supporting the letter.
Everyone can make their voice heard by sending a message to your state representatives in the Assembly and Senate. Just use this handy template from Food & Water Watch.
Even more effective is convincing your local town or village board, or county legislature to pass a resolution supporting the New York Data Center Moratorium Bills: A10141 (Kelles) / S9144 (Krueger). Get in touch with your local officials and ask them to pass a resolution in support and send to their own assembly and senate representatives with copies to the following:
For Assembly, include the Assembly Member representing the district where the resolution is originating from and:
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie <Speaker@nyassembly.gov>
Anna Kelles, Chair, Rural Resources <kellesa@nyassembly.gov>
Gary Pretlow, Chair, Ways & Means <pretloj@nyassembly.gov>
Deborah Glick, Chair, Environmental Conservation <glickd@nyassembly.gov>
Didi Barrett, Chair, Energy <barrettd@nyassembly.gov>
Find Assemblymember emails.
For Senate, include the Senate Member representing the district where the resolution is originating from and:
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins < scousins@nysenate.gov>
Liz Krueger, Chair, Senate Finance (prime bill sponsor) < lkrueger@nysenate.gov>
Pete Harckham, Chair, Senate Environmental Conservation < harckham@nysenate.gov>
Kevin Parker, Chair, Senate Energy & Telecommunications < parker@nysenate.gov>
Resources and Toolkits for Local Governments:
North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit: State and Local Policy Interventions
Loudoun County, VA Zoning Ordinance for Data Centers
Data Center Primer for Planners
Zoning for Data Centers and Cryptocurrency Mining
Managing AI Build Out – Treat Data Centers as a Distinct Use
Dryden Town Board Bans Data Centers
Stay Connected
• Gay Nicholson is looking for volunteers to help with an ongoing op-ed and letter-to-the-editor campaign on the harms of data centers in our region. If interested, email gay@sustainablefingerlakes.org.
• Donate to support CLEAN and FLX Strong’s lawsuit against the Town of Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals and TeraWulf entities.
Save the date: Our next Finger Lakes Forecast webinar is April 8 on Reducing Wildfire Risk in a Changing Climate.
We were able to return to hosting the Finger Lakes Forecast webinar series thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. If you would like to support this work, please contribute here.
Thank you for being part of this important conversation.
