Dear friend,

Two thirds of the world’s internet traffic flows through over 200 data centers in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Loudoun County has earned the nickname of  “Data Center Alley” because of the high concentration of data centers, but unfortunately, that has also come with a wide range of negative impacts on electricity rates, water consumption, and pollution. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to join a tour organized by our grantee ally Climate Justice Alliance to see the impact of these data centers and how people are fighting back.

The recent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) has exacerbated this issue as hyperscale data centers are being built to accommodate the massive data needs of AI models. 

By 2030, AI is expected to lead to a 165% increase in electricity demand by data centers and add 44 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

AI and data centers are disproportionately negatively impacting Black communities as they face the impacts of climate change, increasing cost of electricity, and loss of jobs displaced by AI. 

At our first stop, we saw an Amazon data center built next to housing, recreation fields, and a community center. Neighbors living near the data centers had no way to prevent their construction under “by-right” zoning laws. 

A green recreation field is in the foreground, with homes to the right. Multiple white and gray large buildings housing data centers are in the background. 

At our second stop, we witnessed how data centers surrounded Tippett’s Hill Cemetery, where enslaved people from the 1700s were buried. One data center was still under active construction, making it much harder to access the cemetery. The constant noise and imposing buildings were a disturbing contrast to a place that ought to have been protected as a sacred space of quiet reflection.

A gray data center is under construction with a crane. In the foreground is a stone sign marking Tippett's Hill Cemetery. 

At the third stop, we saw blocks upon blocks of sprawling data centers and their energy infrastructure. Data centers require enormous amounts of energy to operate, and tons of water to cool their electronics. AI companies’ promises of clean energy are often broken by this strain on resources. Backup diesel generators are operated when the power grid cannot withstand the energy demand. In Virginia alone, there are over 10,000 of these diesel generators. In a summer 2024 drought, some data centers ran backup diesel fuel generators full-time, leading to a dramatic increase in air pollution and soot. 

A gray data center houses diesel generators to provide their electricity.

Our grantee ally Climate Justice Alliance is playing a critical role in leading a campaign calling for more regulation of AI and data centers. Climate Justice Alliance created a toolkit to provide messaging for communities working to resist plans to build data centers. 

Across the country, frontline communities have been successful in blocking at least $64 billion of proposed data center projects over the last year and half. When AI tools are being pushed into so many aspects of the technology we use, we must reckon with their true costs.

This end of year we are raising $3M to resource grassroots organizations and social movements fighting the bad while building the new. We are at $2.8M. 

Will you help us to reach our goal? 

Your solidarity shines the way forward to build a just future together – thank you. 

In solidarity,

Hannah

Development and Data Systems Associate

PS: Will you join us to accompany social movements fighting the climate crisis by making a generous gift today? 

Grassroots International
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867 Boylston Street Suite 500
Boston, MA 02116
United States

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