Grateful for the rain, but we need so much more. There have been several moratoriums on data centers in North Carolina recently, but we’ve also learned about another proposed pipeline in Chatham County! Lots of ways to take action in the next few weeks that you’ll find below. The rally before the last rate hike hearing next Tuesday will be fun. Hope to see you there!
May 12, Drag Down Our Electric Bills
5:30 pm, Rally and Drag Show
7 pm, Public hearing on Duke’s request to raise electric bills
Durham County Courthouse, 501 S. Dillard St. Durham
Join us for the last rate hike hearing! North Carolinians are having to choose between paying the light bill and paying for food, medicine, or rent! One reason your bills are so high?: NC electric bills are subsidizing power for big tech companies’ data centers.
What makes it even worse: Our money, water, and land are being consumed for for AI tools we don’t use, but are used for:
Hear from speakers including Durham City Councilman Nate Baker, Nadeen Bir District 2 Durham School Board Member & co-founder of Mothers for Ceasefire, Triangle Raging Grannies and more. Then, rally around the electrifying queen herself, Stormie Daie! Can she teach (Pay My) Bills Gates & Jeff Bozos a lesson? Then speak out at the hearing! Register here.
May 11, Earth’s Greatest Enemy screenings
1 & 7 pm, The Chelsea Theater, 1129 Weaver Dairy Road, Chapel Hill
General Admission ~ Tickets at the Door
Hosts NC Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – Triangle, invite you to a special one-day-only screening of “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” (2025), an independent film that explores the intersection of militarism and our global climate crisis. General Admission ~ Tickets at the door.
May 13, Enbridge Pipeline Proposed in Chatham County – Community Meeting
6-8 pm, Forest Hall at Chatham Mills, 480 Hillsboro St, Suite 530, Pittsboro
Enbridge is proposing a new fracked gas pipeline in Chatham County that could potentially cross the Haw River! More information and registration link here.
Lisa Sorg’s article about this “A New Enbridge Pipeline Spurs Opposition in Central North Carolina” here.
May 17, Walk in the Woods with Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle and Other Lovers of Creation
2-4 pm, Umstead Park, Rte. 1-40 exit, Harrison Avenue entrance, Raleigh
This walk aims to encourage participants to slow down and take the time to experience the park through all five senses, Register here.
May 19th-June 16th, Building Powerful Campaigns against AI Data Centers: Organizing Training Series
6-8 pm, Tuesdays, [five sessions]
The Data Center Working Group, Kairos Fellowship, and Fight Oligarchy team are offering a five-part training series to support organizing and campaign efforts to stop the expansion of data centers. Each session covers key skills and techniques to help groups build winning coalitions, strategies, and campaigns. Sessions have a progressive structure with each workshop building upon the previous one, as well as individual workshops can be taken as standalones. This series is part of the larger work of building a movement to advance an alternative vision of a society where our communities determine their own economies and futures. Register here.
TAKE ACTION!
Urge Your Members of Congress to Oppose Big Oil Immunity here!
Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Hageman have introduced a bill that would give Big Oil a get-out-of-jail-free card. The “Big Oil Immunity” bill would preempt initiatives at the state level and local level to make polluters pay for climate damages. After you have sent your email, also give them a call!
Tell governments: ensure affordable renewable energy for all here.
Congress: Sponsor the AI Data Center Moratorium Act!here.
They Profit, We Pay. Fix It Now.
This war is their business and our pain. Our governments must end the war, tax the profits and invest in people and the planet. 350.org joined 130+ organizations in an open letter with 4 clear demands: end the war, tax profiteers, cancel debt and secure food and energy for all. They profit, we pay. It’s time to change that. More info here.
ARTICLES and VIDEOS
Protesters push back against ‘fossil fuels from hell’ during Duke Energy rate hikehearing by Zackary Turner here.
Duke Energy’s ELNG Concept: First = Expensive and Risky by Shelley Robbins here.
Climate Protest at NC Governor’s Mansion Begins Campaign of Civil Disobedience — NC WARN news release here.
North Carolina MUST NOT Repeat Georgia’s Nuclear Blunder: New Nuclear is a High-Risk Approach
to Meeting Electricity Demand. An assessment for NC WARN by Bill Powers here.
Rural North Carolina fights back against PFAS contaminationhere.
Tiny North Carolina town takes a big step toward geothermal energy by Elizabeth Ouzts here.
Dangerous heavy rains are getting more likely and widespread by Jeff Masters here.
Seven of the top 11 highest-volume precipitation events over the past 77 years have occurred just in the past 10 years.
Cities are rehearsing for deadly heat. Will it help when disaster comes? By Natalie Donback here.
Citing ‘Irreversible Harm,’ 100+ Groups Urge Congress to Reject Rushed Data Center Approvals by Brett Wilkins here.
“Lawmakers must prioritize public health, environmental sustainability, and community resilience, and reject rollbacks that hand corporations unchecked control over land, energy, and local resources.” (350 Triangle joined others in this letter.)
City of Durham Passes 60-Day Data Center Moratoriumhere.
City Councilmember Nate Baker, who proposed the moratorium, acknowledged the timeline change before the meeting, saying conversations about a prolonged ban would continue.
Harnett County Imposes Moratorium On Data Centershere.
Clean energy groups push back on North Carolina regulators’ solar energy pause by Zackary Taylor here.
Duke Energy Received Tax Breaks on Its Three N.C. Data Centers by Lisa Sorg here.
The Dark Side of the Data Center Boom by Melissa Garriga here.
New study raises heat island concerns as NC data center boom growshere.
Big Tech’s ‘False Solutions’ to the Climate Crisis
Nuclear power, carbon capture, and AI: what do these things have in common? They’re all false solutions big tech wants us to think will help solve the climate crisis it is worsening through its data centers’ emissions. Learn more in Kairos’ new report here.
Recording of Big Tech’s False Solutions to the Climate Crisis” Launch Eventhere.
Recording of Debunking Data Centers: Jobs and Laborhere.
Data Center Tax Breaks Becoming Billion-Dollar Budget Sinkholes by Anthony Elmo here.
U.S. Court of Appeals Denies Stays for Virginia DEQ and North Carolina DEQ MVP Southgate 401 Certificationshere.
From Indigenous Environmental Network: Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuelshere.
Thanks for reading and for taking action. Take care of yourselves!
