Data centers need guardrails now

Dear Editor,

As a parent and a teacher, I urge local leaders to demand accountability for data centers. Right now, big polluters are profiting while our families foot the bill. Data centers take up acres of much-needed land that could otherwise be used for affordable housing, education or agriculture. We need our rural landscapes to keep protecting wildlife and providing clean air and water. 

The rush to power data centers is driving new fossil fuel development, threatening climate progress and bringing more toxic pollution to communities. Instead, we could be powering our lives with clean energy that protects our wallets, our climate and our health. The progress we have made in the last 20 years in restricting emissions and reducing pollution will be reversed, especially if data centers are gas powered.

This shouldn’t be a difficult choice. Let’s hold data centers accountable with common-sense guardrails now. 

Anne D’Olivo

Manchester, Vt.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Data centers need guardrails now.