Thread: Greenie Weenies Embrace Data Center Fight (good for fundraising) | + reallygraceful

Greenie Weenies Embrace Data Center Fight (it’s good for their fund raising)

By William Teach July 20, 2026 – 10:30 am

Most “environmental” groups exist at this point simply to make money and be annoying

‘A better way to be relevant’: Greens embrace data center fight



The nation’s biggest green groups have joined the fray over data centers—and they’re starting to notch some victories after 18 months of stinging environmental setbacks under the Trump administration.

Groups including the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, and Food and Water Watch are ramping up national campaigns, activating volunteers in states and providing support for local fights against the massive artificial intelligence facilities that are spreading across the country.

Their strategy is aimed at engaging with voters where they are most focused, and it could help generate new enthusiasm—as well as a stream of fresh funding—from progressive backers who have been far less aggressive in fighting for environmental causes than they were during the first Trump administration.

“There is not a better way to be relevant that is as prevalent as data centers,” said Jane Kleeb, founder and director of BOLD Alliance, which got its start organizing rural landowners against the Keystone XL oil pipeline. “After doing this work for 20 years, it is easier to mobilize communities to block something than it is to build something.”

Wow. That is one ____ of a statement on the back of the fundraising thing. The “progressives” want to block progress. They aren’t about doing things, they are about stopping them, or, at least, trying to. Remember, these wackos tried to stop many solar and wind projects, such as the Ivanpah (crappy) solar facility.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the environmental movement has suffered a series of losses: a weakening of air and water pollution laws for factories and vehicles, eradication of climate change rules, and a sharp turn away from clean energy sources and toward fossil fuels.

Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump

Now, opposition to the data center construction boom is offering a new opportunity—and green groups lodged a big win on Tuesday when Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul froze most new large-scale data center construction in the state, yielding to calls to pause projects until the state can establish standards around their development.

That will enable the environmental groups to weigh in on new energy sources in the state and potentially head off the expansion of fossil fuel power sources that would increase climate change-causing carbon emissions and other pollution.

And they’ll just go elsewhere, bringing their jobs and taxable earnings to other states.

The Sierra Club is sifting through arcane state utility regulator filings to discover how data centers get their power. Earthjustice beefed up a pollution enforcement team to hit air quality violators. NRDC helped shape policies that New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed into law, and has helped communities like Aurora, Ill., design standards for development. Food and Water Watch crafted community organizing tool kits to help support grassroots opposition to data centers.

And they’re all getting lots and lots of donations for which they spend little on actually protecting the environment. But, all the employees, especially the top end, get paid a lot of money.

BTW, just to be clear, I haven’t made my own decision on data centers, except in terms of making sure they are built away from people, because they are apparently loud. They are the future, though.

Greenie Weenies Embrace Data Center Fight (it’s good for their fund raising) » Pirate's Cove