FINALLY some cooler temps as we move into the fall season! Still waiting for much needed rain though, since we’re in a severe drought. Find several events, including the SE Raleigh People’s Assembly & Candidate Forum on the 3rd, plus, many actions to take below!
September 30, Oral Arguments in Suncor v. Boulder: What to Expect, What to Look For
12 pm, online
Hosted by the Center for Progressive Reform. The first oral argument scheduled for the U.S. Supreme Court’s next term is Suncor v. Boulder. This case arises from the oil and gas industry’s attempt to use novel theories of federal preemption to block state and local governments from holding them accountable in court for their decades-long campaign to conceal the harms of their products. Register here.
September 30, Who Owns Appalachia? Property, Extraction, and Land Liberation
12 pm, online
Central Appalachia has been a key site of the extractive economy for two centuries. In recent decades, landscapes reshaped and abandoned by the coal industry have been repurposed for prisons and, now, AI data centers. How did this region become a target for repeated cycles of extraction and abandonment? How are communities using land ownership data not only to stop new extractive developments before they take hold, but also to break with the property regime that underpins them? And what can these struggles teach us about resisting extractivism elsewhere? Register here.
September 30, 7DS Community Pipeline Safety & Emergency Preparedness Tabletop Exercise
6–8 pm, virtual or in person at 5th & Washington, 103 S. Fifth St., Mebane
This will be an interactive community meeting focused on one important question:
If a pipeline emergency happened in our community tomorrow, would our people know what was happening, who to call, where to go, and what to do? Together, participants will examine emergency notification, evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures, transportation barriers, communication failures, accessibility, rural preparedness, and the responsibilities of pipeline operators and local emergency officials.
Hosted by MediaJustice. Join our next conversation to unpack Public Service Commissions (PSCs), the regulatory bodies that fast track data centers to sell out our communities, and how we can fight back. We’ll dive into Louisiana, Georgia, Arizona, and Alabama to show how these agencies collude with Big Tech to take our land, water, and energy. Register here.
October 1, NC: Virtual Data Center Town Hall
7-8:30 pm
Join a coalition of community advocates (many from the Charlotte area) to a virtual town hall about data centers and their current and potential impacts. We are inviting our local November candidates and encourage you to do the same if you are outside of Mecklenburg County. We need many faces, reactions, and comments in the chat. Our “ask” is for a two year moratorium. Seated officials and candidates will be able to hear from experts as well as concerned citizens. Our goal is to help inform them with the facts about these data centers and to help dispel some of the disinformation that is circulating in various different venues. Register here.
Canvassing for the SE Raleigh People’s Assembly & Candidate Forum!
Sign up for shifts and find out how to support the movement here.
October 3, Southeast Raleigh People’s Assembly & Candidate Forum
3-6 pm, The Garner Woman’s Club, 230 US Hwy 70 West, Garner
Join neighbors, community organizers, and local candidates for an afternoon of conversation, connection, and community participation. The gathering brings together a community organizing fair, panel discussion, and candidate forum to explore the issues shaping Southeast Raleigh. Topics include proposed data centers and their potential community impacts, neighborhood safety, and political accountability. More info and register here.
October 6, Raleigh City Council Evening Session
6 pm, Rally and Pack the Meeting — Pass a 32-month data center moratorium now!
7-9 pm, Raleigh Municipal Building, 222 W. Hargett St.
One topic will be discussion of a data center moratorium. We’re asking for a 32-month moratorium and right now the city is possibly requesting only 6 months. Unacceptable! Agenda will be posted the Thursday before the meeting here. Sign up to speak by Oct 2nd @ 3pm.
October 22, Making the Case for Climate Justice: Research, Communities, and the Law
2 pm, online
Hosted by Oil Change International, join this webinar exploring the increasing role that litigation plays in the global movement to end fossil fuels. With the UN Environment Programme announcing that the world is likely to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming in the next few years, we find ourselves in a code red moment – needing to use every resource at our disposal. Register here.
2026 General Election Dates and Deadlines
Check online every so often to make sure you are still registered here.
Oct. 9: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).* For more info, see How to Register.
Oct. 15: In-person early voting begins; same-day registration available. For more, see Vote Early in Person. For early voting sites and schedules, see Early Voting Sites.
Oppose the Enbridge Fracked-Gas Pipeline! Sign here.
Contact the North Carolina Utilities Commission!
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners have passed a resolution opposing the Enbridge Gasline in Chatham County. YEAH! Now they must send their resolution to the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) and ask for a clear demonstration of specific public need and a full alternatives analysis examined by Enbridge. This must occur BEFORE the permit processes associated with this project.
We need to make sure the NCUC knows we don’t want this pipeline! Take action by following the steps detailed below from Aidan with Haw River Assembly:
1. Contact the NCUC clerk ([email protected]) to support this effort.
2. Subject line: Request for Demonstration of Public Need and Full Alternatives Analysis for Enbridge’s Proposed Chatham County Fracked-Gas Pipeline
4. Copy and Paste the following message: To whom it may concern, I am asking for the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission to require Enbridge Gas to show a clear demonstration of specific public need and a full alternatives analysis, including a “no-build” alternative, for their proposed Chatham County System Expansion Project.
5. Add any other details and information that you see fit! (Add if you are a ratepayer, landowner, advocate; share your story; remember to use a respectful tone, messages with profanity or harassment are often disregarded)
6. Send!
Tell the U.S. Forest Service to keep roadless national forests protected!
The Trump administration released its plan to undo the landmark 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and remove protections from nearly 45 million acres of wild, intact, national forests and 70,000 miles of rivers and streams. If finalized, this move will open pristine public lands to road construction, commercial logging, and other development across 37 states. Protect the Roadless Wild here.
Tell NC Regulators: Not one step BACK on FRACKING!
Right now, a public comment period is open where you can weigh in on whether NC’s fracking rules are “necessary” or “unnecessary”. These rules are VERY necessary. We can’t afford to have NC’s fracking rules weakened in any way!
North Carolina is still frack free. This is most likely due in large part to our strong rules.
In your comment, say that all the fracking rules are necessary and why you personally care.
You can also mail written comments to:
Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
Oil and Gas Commission (Attn. Rules review)
1612 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1612
Tell Stokes County Commissioners to Deny Project Delta Data Centerhere.
Share questionnaire with candidates! One last reminder to email or call candidates in your district and ask them to fill out this questionnaire on their policy positions on AI data centers in NC to provide voters with information. Don’t know who your candidates are? Find their information here.
NO paving the way for data center infrastructure! Congress needs to support a national moratorium on data center projects instead! Write to your member of Congress asking them to oppose the Ratepayer Protection Act” (S.5028)here.
No pipelines on a burning planet. No to Keystone XL! Trump is threatening to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, even as our communities are reeling from a summer of fossil-fueled heatwaves, wildfires and smoke. 350 Canada and 350 US are joining forces to tell Prime Minister Carney: No pipelines on a burning planet. NO to Keystone XL. Sign here.
Ask your state and local elected leaders to Oppose Immunity for Big Oil by signing this national sign-on letter via this link. We need more NC signatures added to this list!
Tell your lawmakers to stand up for our environmental protections! Send a letter asking them to vote NO on changes to our environmental laws that cut the public out here.
Tell Congress: NC Workers NEED Heat Protection! Workers in North Carolina deserve water, shade, and rest during extreme heat. Stop H.R. 6213 here.
Don’t Let Big Oil Destroy the Arctic! The Trump administration has proposed to accelerate oil and gas drilling across 23 million public acres in Alaska’s Western Arctic by ending environmental reviews and rushing project approvals. Tell BLM officials to protect the Western Arctic and its wildlife by scrapping this harmful proposal here.
ARTICLES AND RECORDINGS
Many Richmond County residents are already sick. An Amazon data center could make it worse.
North Carolina Data Center Activity website by Frank Muraca here.
NC WARN’s letter to Gov Josh Stein about Duke Energy and data center developers’ abuse of the public here.
How data center noise is different from regular noise pollution by Kate Grumke here.
Erin Brockovich sounds alarm over AI data center rezoning by Don Davis here.
I read the new UN climate report so you don’t have to. By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson here.
The Secret Behind High Electricity Bills — Video by Robert Reich here.
Recording of The Crypto Money Corrupting Your Politicianshere.
North Carolina settlement with Chemours is a mixed bag for residents: Press release from Southern Environmental Law Center here.
Recording of WHO PAYS FOR POWER? Indigenous Sovereignty, Data Centers & the New Energy Sacrifice Zones hosted by 7 Directions of Service from Climate Week in NYC here. (Forward to just past the one hour mark with Miss Ramona speaking since it took awhile for the technical issues to be worked out.)
Climate Desk Live: AI, Energy, and Our Fight for Democracy and a Healthy, Affordable Future
Recording of event that took place in NYC this past week during climate week with Mayor Mamdami, Mayor Wu, Bill McKibben, Leona Morgan, and more. Brought together journalists, elected officials, researchers, and community advocates to examine the systems shaping our climate future and who gets to decide what comes next. This year’s program explored the collision of technology, energy, and democracy: the rapid growth of AI data centers and their toll on Indigenous communities, communities of color, and rural areas; the lasting footprint of decades of US nuclear weapons production; and what it will take for everyday citizens to build power and shape real solutions when government and industry fall short. Recording of livestream here.
Recording of Climate Change & Mental Health: Navigating Eco-Distress & Building Resiliencehere.
Thanks for reading and for taking action! Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen
