NEVADA – Advocates, health professionals, Tribal members, and community organizers gathered today to call on Governor Joe Lombardo and state leaders to rein in the rapid expansion of data centers in Nevada, warning of the threats they pose to public health, water, and household energy costs. Speakers criticized the Governor for offering more than $200 million in tax breaks to the industry, including through a recent executive order, while Nevada families face rising costs. Speakers pointed to the health and climate risks of data centers powered by imported fossil fuels, the strain on water supplies relied upon by Tribal nationals and rural communities, and the risk that ratepayers will be left covering the costs. They called for no data centers on public lands or next to communities, and invited Nevadans to join the effort.
Debra Hendrickson, Climate Advocate for the Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Co-Founder of Nevada Clinicians for Climate Action, and author of The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Frontlines of Climate Change, issued the following statement:
“Nevada has the two fastest-warming cities in the country, and air quality here has been significantly worse in the past decade. Yet many data center operators plan to worsen both problems by burning dirty, imported fossil fuels to meet their voracious electricity needs instead of using clean energy. This will undermine the state’s efforts to improve air quality and cut greenhouse gases. It will create health risks for all Nevadans, but especially for children. Fossil-fuel pollutants are known to stunt children’s lung growth and function. They have been found embedded in the frontal lobe of children’s brains after having been inhaled through the nose. They have been linked to preterm birth, low birth weight, and birth defects, as well as sudden infant death syndrome, pediatric cancers, and other diseases. Allowing these centers to burn fossil fuels means choosing these outcomes for children in Northern Nevada.
It also means ignoring the global cataclysm at our doorstep. This summer, thousands of Reno and Washoe County residents had to evacuate from wildfires at the north end of town. The West is on fire, and forest scientists say climate change is the main driver of this trend. The world will soon cross the dreaded 1.5 degree C temperature-rise threshold. Every pound of carbon we add to the atmosphere increases the threat to civilization and the future our children will inherit. Allowing data centers to make this problem worse is a betrayal of the children of Nevada and the world.”
Bri Schmidt, Northern Nevada Communications Organizer with the Nevada Conservation League, issued the following statement:
“We Nevadans know what happens when we’re left on the sidelines while corporate interests are prioritized. We lose housing. We lose healthcare. We can barely afford groceries. While Nevadans struggle to make ends meet in this affordability crisis, Governor Lombardo is handing tax cuts to data centers that pollute our communities. Under his leadership, Nevada gave data centers over $200 million in tax breaks. Last month, he doubled down with an executive order, continuing to offer tax breaks. These tech giants come into our communities, use our land and water, and leave us out to dry. The data center industry is in debt totaling $1.3 trillion. If that bet goes bad, who’s left holding the bill? Data centers represent the core issue in this election: people over profits. Nevada families shouldn’t see a rise in their energy bills just because data centers show up.”
Josh Dini, Member of Walker River Paiute Tribe, issued the following statement:
“We are the Northern Paiute Numa of the Great Basin, we depend on water sheds and they are being threatened by mining, geothermal, solar, and data centers. We have a data center coming up right upstream from our reservation in the Lyon County District. Our concern is the water, the water that we depend on for our food, for our agriculture, and for our everyday recreational use. If this data center is built we don’t know how much longer we will have clean water. We are asking for a call out, to stand with us, and help with any support. Come out to see why we are here and standing against Data Centers and we are here to protect our privacy for the future.”
Jose Revera, Communications Associate with Make the Road Action, issued the following statement:
“Our work is rooted in the community every day, across Nevada. We organize alongside working families. We show up at hearings and town halls. We build power with our members so they can speak for themselves, and we make sure their voices reach the people making decisions. From East Las Vegas to Reno to small towns where the nearest neighbor is a mile down the road. Data center developers are looking at Nevada, and that means big decisions are coming about our land, our water, and our power. Those decisions will reach the family in Winnemucca who depend on their well. They’ll reach the kitchen table in West Wendover where a mother is budgeting for the month. They’ll reach their grandfather in Pahrump planning how to stay cool through another summer.
Here in Nevada, we know what water is worth. We know what it costs to keep the lights on. And we know our families have so much to offer when it comes to the future of our state. We are asking for no data centers on public lands, and no data centers next to our communities. Public land is where Nevadans camp with their families, where Tribal nations have prayed for generations, where ranchers have worked for years. We may live differently, but we drink the same water and we pay the same utility bills. And we all want a Nevada that works for the people who call it home. We invite you to join us. Come to our communities. Sit at our tables. Listen to Nevadans. Our families are ready to help build a future that protects what matters most.”
SPOKESPEOPLE ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
###
About Battle Born Progress: Battle Born Progress, through strategic communication efforts, empowers, engages, and mobilizes Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed. We support, engage, and mobilize the progressive community through bold leadership, strategic communications, accountability, and education. We are on the cutting edge of new media and are the go-to source for progressive issues and advocacy for traditional media. Learn more at https://www.