Planning & Growth

Databases on Data Centers, Brockovich and Beyond

An explosion of new artificial intelligence data centers means potential trouble, as they hoover up power and water, and spew global warming gases. It’s a story with national and global ramifications, certainly. But it’s also one that can be reported locally. Reporter’s Toolbox offers up some handy databases for environmental journalists to find data center stories in their communities. 

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Trump Wants To Put A $75M Coal Terminal In Oakland. Residents Resist.

"Residents of West Oakland, which suffers from toxic waste and high pollution rates, rally against a coal export facility"

Source: Guardian, 06/17/2026

Shrinking Strip Of New Orleans Marsh Helps Protect 1.5 Million People

"There’s an increasingly narrow strip of New Orleans marshland that hardly anyone lives on, but without it, hundreds of thousands of people will face far greater risks from storms and floods."

Source: Verite News, 06/17/2026

Pentagon Reviews Are Blocking Wind Farms, Putting Jobs At Risk: Lawsuit

"Renewable energy groups are suing the U.S. military because they say national security reviews for new wind farms on private land have been effectively frozen for months. The groups say this logjam jeopardizes $47 billion in investments and thousands of jobs in 21 states."

Source: AP, 06/16/2026

What Most Battleground House Districts Have In Common: Data Centers

"More than 200 data centers are going up in dozens of competitive House districts — and neither party knows how to handle their political fallout heading into the midterms."

Source: Politico, 06/16/2026

Brussels Presses Albania As Kushner Resort Flouts EU Green Law

“On Monday, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama ​told Reuters in an interview that his country will press ahead with ⁠a luxury resort planned by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his ​daughter Ivanka Trump on a remote stretch of Balkan coast despite protests over ​its environmental impact.”

Source: Reuters, 06/10/2026

Is Climate Disaster Insurance a Worsening Disaster?

The growing disconnect between climate risk and risk insurance for homeowners is leaving millions on the knife-edge of economic disaster. But the latest TipSheet suggests that reality offers environmental journalists an opportunity to navigate the morass, community by community. Get more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources in the latest column.

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"Erin Brockovich Takes Aim At Data Center Secrecy"

"Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has a new mission: bringing more transparency to data center construction and the impact those data centers have on nearby communities. Brockovich — who was famously played by Julia Roberts in a film dramatizing her legal case against Pacific Gas & Electric — recently launched a website with a map of data centers across the United States."

Source: TechCrunch, 06/02/2026

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