Can’t believe it’s already June! Hope you’re taking care of yourselves. There are several events and actions around utility bills, data centers, extreme heat, and more that you will find below.
June 2, Why is My Light Bill So High?
6:30 pm, Nuestro Barrio Liberation Center, 458 S Driver St, Durham
Hosted by NC Black Alliance and Advance Carolina. Learn more about the proposed Duke Energy rate hikes and help prepare for the final hearing in Durham on June 3. Register here.
June 2, 350 US Launch of The Great Power Shift!
7 pm, online
As part of our new global campaign, The Great Power Shift, 350.org will be sharing our U.S. approach to building a united front around an issue that’s on everyone’s mind: Our utility bills. Register here.
June 3 Drag Down Our Electric Bills Rally!
Durham County Courthouse, 510 S. Dillard St. Durham
5:30 pm: Rally and Drag Show
7 pm: Public hearing on Duke’s request to raise electric bills
Duke Energy wants to raise our bills 18%! Why? In part, it’s to power big tech data centers. The NC Utilities Commission is holding the last rate hike hearing (that was rescheduled) in Durham to decide if they should let them. This is a peaceful, fun event to make our voices heard because this hearing is about whether Duke Energy can raise our already too high bills!
Hear from speakers Dr. Rania Masri, Director of Organizing and Policy with NC Environmental Justice Network, Durham City Councilman Nate Baker, Darrion Smith of UE 150, and the Triangle Raging Grannies.
Next, rally around for an amazing drag show featuring Naomi Dix! Can she finally get billionaires (Pay My) Bills Gates & Jeff Bozos to pay their fair share? Then speak out at the hearing! Register here.
6- 8 pm, Starlight on 22nd, 422 E 22nd St, Charlotte
Join a joyful, community-centered celebration that brings together culture, art, and education as part of Dream.Org’s Stop Toxic Tech: Green the Grid campaign. This event is focused on raising awareness around transparency, accountability, and public health as data center expansion accelerates across North Carolina. Register here.
June 8, Expected Charlotte City Council Vote on Data Center Moratorium
5 pm, Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E 4th St.
June 8, Debunking Data Centers: Public Health and Health Equity
5 pm, online
Hosted by Climate Justice Alliance. Learn about data center pollutants and public health threats and using public health data and messaging in organizing and policy advocacy. Register here.
June 9, When AI Comes to Town: Decoding the Real Life Impact of Data Centers in Our Communities
6-7:30 pm, College Park Baptist Church, 1601 Walker Ave, Greensboro
Dr. Rania Masri, the Director of Organizing and Policy with NC Environmental Justice Network will be speaking on the dangers of large data centers and what we can do to stop them. Register here.
June 9, Durham Planning Commission Meeting (Durham Data Center Moratorium Hearings)
5:30 pm, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham
June 13, Kayaktivism for the Dan River
11 am -3:30 pm, Dan River (launch location shared upon RSVP)
Organized by 7 Directions of Service Action Fund. Indigenous leaders and environmental justice advocates will hold a kayaktivism direct action on the Dan River to protest fossil fuel expansion, data center development, and threats to cultural and sacred sites. The Dan River was recently named one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers by American Rivers. This action brings visibility and urgency to the protection of water, communities, and Indigenous sovereignty. More information and register here.
June 14th – 20th HEAT AWARENESS WEEK
June 14, Film screening “Without Shade, Without Rest”
A documentary highlighting the realities farmworkers face while laboring in extreme heat without adequate protections. The event starts at 5 pm, the screening begins at 6 pm, and the Q & A panel follows at 8 pm.
June 15, American Towers’ Rezoning Hearing on East Charlotte Data Center
5 pm, Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E 4th St.
June 15, Durham City Council Data Center Moratorium Hearing
7 pm, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham
June 22, Durham County Data Center Moratorium Hearing
7 pm, 200 East Main Street, Durham
June 24, NC Data Center Grassroots Lobby Day
9 am- 5 pm, NC Legislative Building, 16 W Jones St, Raleigh
All across North Carolina, communities are pushing back against the impacts of data centers. We need leadership from our state legislators on issues like high electric bills, water usage, non-disclosure agreements, toxic chemicals, air pollution, lack of jobs, surveillance, and noise pollution.
Join together with communities from across North Carolina to lobby your state senator and state representative to protect our communities from the impact of data centers! Folks will meet throughout the day with their legislators, make it when you can.
There will be a 12 pm press conference (location TBD) with community leaders from areas fighting data centers. Register to let us know you are coming for more info here.
*Resources on Understanding Data Centers and Their Environmental Impacts from NC Environmental Justice Network here.
TAKE ACTION!
Tell the NC General Assembly: The People Want Rights of Nature! here.
Tell Big Oil: Stay Out of the Arctic Refuge! Send your letter here.
Protect the Great Lakes from a dangerous pipeline (Line 5) projecthere.
Migrant workers, advocates work to get ready for long, hot summer by Will Attwater here.
El Futuro organizers say these items are especially helpful for farmworkers facing extreme heat:
*Hydration packets: Single‑serve packets workers can mix with water to help prevent dehydration during long, hot days in the fields.
*Electrolytes: Powder or tablets that replace salts and minerals lost through heavy sweating.
*Bandanas: Lightweight cloths that can be soaked and worn around the neck or head to provide cooling and some sun and dust protection.
*Ibuprofen: Over‑the‑counter pain reliever farmworkers can use for headaches and muscle pain.
*Hydrocortisone cream: Topical cream that helps relieve itching and irritation from rashes, insect bites and other skin problems.
To coordinate donations or find a drop‑off site, call or text 919‑429‑1806.
Stand up against toxic pollution of NC drinking water!
North Carolina is proposing to adopt a set of polluter-written rules that require no reduction of toxic PFAS and cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane pollution in our drinking water throughout the state. Under the rules, industry could increase harmful pollution without consequence, threatening millions of North Carolinians. Tell the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission that it should REJECT these polluter-written rules and, instead, adopt rules that protect people over polluters’ profits here.
The U.S. Department of Energy just approved the $2.7 billion “Hostos Project”: a proposed undersea cable that would pipe fossil fuel energy from the Dominican Republic into Puerto Rico. We have a chance to stop it. The Hostos Project can’t happen without approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Stand with climate activists in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt the Hostos Project here.
Community Monitoring Fundraiser — Support Protect our Water, Heritage, Rights’ (POWHR) work in keeping our communities safe!
We are organizing opposition to the proposed MVP Boost project, which would expand capacity at three existing MVP compressor stations in West Virginia and add a mega-sized Swann compressor station in Eastern Montgomery County, Virginia. This expansion would ramp up climate wrecking deliveries of methane gas on the mainline MVP by 30%. More info and donate here.
ARTICLES AND VIDEOS
A New Enbridge Pipeline Spurs Opposition in Central North Carolina by Lisa Sorg here.
**Chatham County residents — Contact Aidan ([email protected]) if you’re interested in volunteering on a team to stop the proposed pipeline!
Clean energy groups challenge NC Utilities Commission chair’s order to pause solar projects by Christine Zhu here.
New NC bill requires Duke Energy to make progress on new nuclear facilities before coal retirements by Adam Wagner here.
“The bill directs the commission to not allow Duke Energy to retire baseload power generation like coal or natural gas plants until it has first issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a nuclear plant to replace it.” UNACCEPTABLE!!
Sue Sturgis’ latest article, Duke Energy’s dark money backed Phil Berger’s losing primaryhere.
We cannot Carry Every Fire at once by Crystal Cavalier here.
“I think many of us — especially those doing movement work, environmental justice work, advocacy, organizing, caregiving, healing, and community leadership — are carrying an unbearable amount.”
Recording of DOGE Accountability Campaign Mass Call hosted by Stop the Money Pipeline here.
Hottest Year Ever Recorded Set to Arrive by 2030, Warns New UN Report by Brad Reed here.
Environmentalists Turn Out in Force to Oppose Trump Coal Ash Rollbacks by y Arcelia Martin here.
Summertime Blues (Super El Niño Redux) by Eric Shonkwiler here.
Malnourished Gray Whales of the Eastern North Pacific Are in ‘Serious Trouble’
The population has plummeted over the past seven years as climate change triggers mass starvation in warming Arctic waters. By Blaine Harden here.
Building Community Resilience Hubs in Appalachia by Abby Hassler here.
Climate Action Can Win Majoritiesby Jamie Henn and Aaron Rugenburg here.
Farm Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Resources from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association here.
Saul Levin has launched The Hum, a new podcast where they interview the farmers, researchers, parents, and politicians fighting AI data center projects in a standoff between tech billionaires and regular people.
The fight against AI datacenters isn’t just about tech – it’s about democracy by Astra Taylor and Saul Levin here.
Duke University Plans a Data Center It Says Will Boost ‘Environmental Responsibility and Sustainability’ by Lisa Sorg here.
“Twenty data centers that are 5 megawatts—that’s still 100 megawatts,” St Dre said. “They’re gutting the progress we’ve made on climate change. These major climate catastrophes are getting worse.” ~Leslie St Dre
In First Encyclical, Pope Leo Warns Against Unrestrained AI in Hands of Mega-Rich Fewby Jake Johnson here.
Thanks for reading and for taking action! Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen
