"“When you speak about wanting changes for cleaner air, and you have a child who's impacted, it hits differently,” she told the magazine. “It's gut-wrenching, and knowing too that these data centers primarily are using fossil fuels. It's really disappointing and it's scary.”"
"Black started a Facebook group to inform the public about the development, and the extreme environmental costs the facilities engender. Now called “Stop the Northeast Wisconsin Data Centers,” the group gathered over 2,000 members within just the first two days alone, and it's since swelled to around 3,700."
"“They're like, 'this is farmland. I don't want it in my backyard. I love where I live. It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. I don't want this,'” Black told People. “And then when you start talking to them about what this really would mean for their community and their health, they're even more concerned. So that was the organizing part.”"
Jayne Black, a Wisconsin environmental justice organizer and mother of four, began activism after her children were diagnosed with asthma linked to environmental factors and multiple sclerosis. Learning of a proposed data center on land 12 miles from her home, she reacted with alarm because data centers primarily use fossil fuels and would worsen air quality. She created a Facebook group called “Stop the Northeast Wisconsin Data Centers,” which grew to over 2,000 members in two days and later to about 3,700. She used local pride in natural beauty and concerns about health and community impacts to persuade residents. Shortly after the group launched, the Texas-based development firm Cloverleaf withdrew its plans, citing lack of support.
Read at Futurism
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