The Town of Tonawanda Town Board voted tonight in FAVOR of a 1 year moratorium on data centers larger than 20 megawatts!
Clean Air Coalition of WNY
@cacwny.org
We build power by developing grassroots leaders to organize their communities to run and win environmental justice and public health campaigns in Erie and Niagara Counties in WNY. http://linktr.ee/cleanairwny
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
We need less pro-business naivety among local and state officials, and more common sense regulations and enforcement. @localprogress.bsky.social has a newly published guide for local government officials who want to push back on the hyperscale data center build out - localprogress.org/resources/
Resources - Local Progress
We regularly host programming and learning sessions designed to help local electeds and their staff dig in on key policy areas.
localprogress.org
Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · 6d agoWe've gotta make the Monorail Simpsons episode required viewing for every city councilor in the country. Every single thing he says here is a lie. A Potemkin Village Imaginarium.
We've gotta make the Monorail Simpsons episode required viewing for every city councilor in the country. Every single thing he says here is a lie. A Potemkin Village Imaginarium.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 6d agoHassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."
"We're running out of words to describe the obscenity of these numbers."
'This Is Obscene': Shell Profits More Than Double as Iran War Pushes Up Gas Prices
"We're running out of words to describe the obscenity of these numbers."
commondreams.org
“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
"Five US tech giants' hidden debts soar to $1.65tn on opaque AI funding. Data center leases, GPU supply contracts raise liabilities at Meta, Oracle, Nikkei study shows." asia.nikkei.com/business/tec...
Five US tech giants' hidden debts soar to $1.65tn on opaque AI funding
Data center leases, GPU supply contracts raise liabilities at Meta, Oracle, Nikkei study shows
asia.nikkei.com
Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 2mo ago"Billions spent and hypothetical returns: the AI boom explained with six charts" But as is often the case, every technological boom is eventually followed by a correction. The current surge in AI investment and enthusiasm is unlikely to be an exception.
Free newsletter: The more you buy, the more you lose. Hyperscalers are trapped in a vicious cycle where the more AI data centers they build, the more expensive GPUs - and the debt to buy them - become, and debt markets are becoming exhausted. www.wheresyoured.at/the-more-you-buy-the-more-you-lose/
The More You Buy, The More You Lose
If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 words, in...
wheresyoured.at
Your forests, on fire, brought to you by DOGE gift link wapo.st/4xcw4DX
‘We were shovel-ready’: A Minnesota forest hit by DOGE cuts is now ablaze
Officials said losing out on the ability to do vital prevention work at a perilous time for the region hindered them from being as prepared as they could have been.
wapo.st
This week’s story is about Trump’s sprawling and ethically compromising cryptocurrency projects, how they’ve created massive conflicts of interest for the Trump administration, and why the pages of Trump’s bibles might be sticky. Ok fine, we think it was Craig.
Friendly reminder that these things aren't impacted by closing the Strait of Hormuz so maybe, just maybe, we should implement them to avoid being impacted by future conflicts: -Solar panels -Wind turbines -Battery storage -Electric vehicles -Bicycles -Natural fertilizers -Electric heat pumps
Your gas stove could be hurting your lungs. People with asthma who switched from gas to eclectic induction stoves had fewer asthma symptoms and 70% fewer ER visits. theconversation.com/replacing-ga...
Whoa 😳 Gas stoves were swapped for electric, and the improvements were remarkable! #Asthma 🧪 News article: theconversation.com/replacing-ga... Research article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Asthma Control Before and After Changing Gas Stoves to Electric Stoves
Cooking on natural gas stoves is a major source of indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and may contribute to asthma exacerbations.To assess asthma …
sciencedirect.com
"Of the 154 Air State Facilities reviewed by The Buffalo News, DEC produced no inspection records for 47, indicating they may never have been inspected by state regulators. Another 21 facilities haven't been inspected in more than a decade."
The Buffalo News@buffalonews.com · 2w agoLocally, a 1998 permit allows IsleChem to emit chlorine and hydrogen bromide, while Derrick Manufacturing and Flexovit USA operate under early 2000’s permits that allow emissions of methyl ethyl ketone.
Locally, a 1998 permit allows IsleChem to emit chlorine and hydrogen bromide, while Derrick Manufacturing and Flexovit USA operate under early 2000’s permits that allow emissions of methyl ethyl ketone.
154 New York facilities have decades-old air permits. Here's why that's important
Locally, a 1998 permit allows IsleChem to emit chlorine and hydrogen bromide, while Derrick Manufacturing and Flexovit USA operate under early 2000’s permits that allow emissions of methyl ethyl ketone.
buffalonews.com
The EPA has proposed a rule change that would let states decide how much input the public has on air pollution permits. It would be a huge boon for data centers increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. www.wired.com/story/trump-...
The Trump Administration Wants to Change Public Engagement Rules for Polluters
The EPA has proposed a rule change that would let states decide how much input the public has on air pollution permits. It would be a huge boon for data centers increasingly reliant on fossil fuels.
wired.com
Some good news: funding for environmental justice grants must be restored!
EPA Must Fund Environmental Grants It Illegally Canceled, Judge Rules
A federal judge said the agency “is defying” his previous order voiding the cuts.
notus.org
GIS folks who love what you do - can you send us GeoJSON files for municipal legislative districts in Erie and Niagara county? We need these to target letter campaigns to local electeds. info@cacwny.org
can watch on cnbc / youtube here as well- www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5XP...
How Elon Musk's AI Empire In Memphis Became A Cautionary Tale
YouTube video by CNBC
youtube.com
Lora Kolodny@lorak.bsky.social · 3w agoIf you have time this weekend, please check out the doc (~30 min.) my team & I released this week on Musk’s push into Greater Memphis with xAI and its noisy, methane gas burning turbines, data centers, broken promises & impacts on majority Black communities next door. www.cnbc.com/2026/07/16/e...
The moratorium EO is an excellent start, but we have more more work to do - we hope the Governor heard residents and local lawmakers loud and clear when they expressed their concerns, that she additionally signs the Responsible Data Centers Act, and we hope she returns to visit WNY sites first hand.
The Buffalo News@buffalonews.com · 2w agoData center projects have generated fierce backlash in some Western New York communities, with residents fearful of the effects on land use, water and utility bills.
A public meeting about radiological contamination in Niagara County devolved into a shouting match between residents and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New York State departments of Environmental Conservation and Health.
DEC, EPA hold chaotic community meeting on Niagara County radiation
A public meeting about radiological contamination in Niagara County devolved into a shouting match between residents and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New York State departments of Environmental Conservation and Health.
buffalonews.com
We are so excited to see this long-stalled project finally starting to move forward! buffalonews.com/news/local/a...
It was an industrial dump for decades. Tonawanda soon could build a waterfront park there
The Cherry Farm site along the Niagara River was an industrial dumping ground for years. It was cleaned and capped and Tonawanda now wants to build a town park there.
buffalonews.com
Kid1, who is both an conductor and engineer for CN and has driven trains through SK wildfires himself, just sent me this video from Ontario. When I tell you they arent paid enough!!! vt.tiktok.com/ZSXkuEadE/
#MinnesotaWildfires Friend in Ely,MN sent this: "No fun here. Ash falling on everything. No birds singing. Sickly yellow smoke air. Staging to throw things in the truck. Taking down objects that might catch a spark. Yadda yadda. Air is awful Everyone should have respirators."
Wildfire smoke is affecting Western New York today 7/15/26 - check out our blog posts for resources on how to monitor wildfire smoke plumes and the Air Quality Index, as well as for tips on how to reduce harmful impacts, like how to build a DIY air filter. www.cacwny.org/resources/di...
DIY Air Filters - The Clean Air Coalition of W.N.Y.
Check out these two blog posts for resources on how to build DIY air filters or create a "clean room" to reduce the impacts of poor air quality,
cacwny.org
Much more work to come, but we are celebrating today's news from Albany of Governor Hochul's data center executive order, and all the work of our members and supporters that brought about this win - thank you, @governor.ny.gov! Read our full statement on our blog - www.cacwny.org/2026/07/clea...
We'll have much more to say about this later today after the EO text is available - but some very exciting breaking news this morning! It's likely not going to be everything we need, but will be a step in the right direction, and momentum to build off from.
Gothamist@gothamist.com · 3w agoHochul puts hold on large data centers in New York gothamist.com/news/hochul-...
The Town of Tonawanda is revising it's Comprehensive Plan - take 5 minutes to share your thoughts with their planning team on what you would like to see in the next decade of development in the Northtowns! www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCYFZLL
Town of Tonawanda Comprehensive Plan Community Survey
Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.
surveymonkey.com