Greetings, Sierrans!
This month's newsletter is starting off with one our major priorities for 2025: data centers. These large warehouses packed with computer servers are essential for things like cloud storage, online banking, and even the email you're reading now.
While data centers are not new, the are expanding rapidly due to growing demand for new technologies like artificial intelligence. Data centers' environmental impact is alarming: they require massive amounts of electricity and run 24/7.
Georgia is seeing a huge influx of data centers moving to our state, partly due a state tax break. Georgia Power estimates that electricity demand will TRIPLE in the next decade, primarily as a result of these new facilities. To meet the electricity demand, Georgia Power plans to increase our reliance on fossil fuels.
As part of its update to its long-term energy plan filed earlier this year, Georgia Power has proposed delaying planned retirements of coal plants that are among the country's largest carbon emitters.
This important issue has major impacts on our efforts to protect our climate, transition to clean energy, and ensure fair access to affordable power.
Here's how you can make an impact TODAY: Help pass SB 34!
A bill working its way through the state legislature would make sure data centers pay the cost to power these facilities, not other Georgia Power customers.
Senate Bill 34 cleared a key committee this week, but we must keep the pressure on our state senators to keep the bill moving. Click here to send a message to your state senator and ask them to support SB 34.
Thanks for your help advancing this important bill!
Clean Energy Committee
As mentioned above, Georgia Power has filed its proposed update to its long-term energy plans, also known as its integrated resource plan or IRP. The IRP outlines how Georgia Power will generate the electricity it will sell to its customers for the next 20 years, including whether that electricity comes from clean, renewable sources or from dirty fossil fuels like coal and fracked gas.
The plan must be approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), the five-member body of elected officials responsible for regulating utilities in Georgia, including electric, gas, and telecommunications services.
Read more about the IRP proposal at this link. And you can read Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director Adrien Webber's response to the proposal here.
The Sierra Club has officially "intervened" in the IRP process, which will take place over the next several months. Stay tuned to the newsletter and other communications in the coming weeks with more information about how you can get involved in our efforts to improve the proposal.
Energy Burden
What is energy burden? Why do Black households pay more for energy than others? And what are those extra charges on my Georgia Power bill?
Get answers to these questions and more at an event on Tuesday, March 11, in Decatur. Join Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Organizer Keyanna Jones Moore at 6 PM the Scott Candler Library for a presentation and a community conversation about energy burden. Click here to RSVP.
Legislative Committee
To recap our lead item, the most significant thing you can this week to help our legislative work is to send your state senator a message asking them to support Senate Bill 34, which would make data centers pay for the electricity they need instead of passing those costs on to residential and other commercial customers.
Want to get more involved in our legislative work? Join our Legislative Liaisons team! This volunteer team works to help pass strong environmental legislation by connecting folks with their legislators and training them to be effective citizen lobbyists. Learn more and sign up at this link.
Outings
We can all agree that getting outside can do wonders for our mental and physical health. The Sierra Club Georgia Chapter is proud to have a robust outings program that helps folks get on the trail, but we need trained leaders to plan and supervise these trips.
Interested in becoming an outings leader? Learn more and get trained by contacting Chapter Outings Chair Grant Brown.
Okefenokee Swamp
Two new bills have been introduced in the Georgia Legislature that would protect the Okefenokee Swamp from future mining threats.
The first, HB 561, would prohibit new mining operations on Trail Ridge, an ancient sand dune that forms the western boundary of the Swamp. The second, HB 562, puts a temporary five-year moratorium on mining on Trail Ridge to give time for experts to evaluate the impacts of a potential mine.
Read more about these bills at this link.
Additionally, please take a moment to vote for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on USA Today's list of the 10 Best NWRs! It's easy to vote: click the link, scroll to Okefenokee, then click VOTE NOW- and you’ve just made a difference for the swamp!
Transportation Committee
Get plugged into our transportation work at our latest "Let's Talk Transit" event on Wednesday, March 12, at 6 PM at Buckhead Pizza Co.
Join the Georgia Sierra Club Transportation Committee, BeltLine Rail Now, MARTA Army, and ThreadATL for a chance to hang out with your fellow transit supporters for a relaxed evening of drinks, food, and socializing!
RSVP and learn more about this event at this link.
If you want to get more involved with the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter's transportation work, email Transportation Committee Chair Jason Lathbury.
Wildlands & Wildlife
The Sierra Club has signed on to a letter supporting the listing of the Eastern Hellbender as endangered. Georgia is one of 13 states where the Easter Hellbender can be found. Read more about this remarkable salamander and efforts to protect it at this link.
And speaking of endangered species, we need your help to protect the monarch butterfly! After decades of advocacy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is finally proposing to list the monarch butterfly as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Click here to send a message to the FWS encouraging them to finalize these protections for this iconic species!
Here's a few environmental news stories you may have missed this month:
- AJC - Opinion: It’s time we reconsider Stone Mountain
- WABE - Georgia state senators aim to revive consumer advocate for utilities
- Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Blog - What happened to Buttermilk Bottom?
Centennial Group
The Centennial Group, representing the Northwest Atlanta suburbs, meets the first Thursday of each month. Meetings can be attended in person at Life University in Marietta or virtually via Zoom.
Recent meetings featured the Director of the Cobb Water System, a candidate forum with candidates for the Cobb County Commission, and a legislative update from the Georgia Chapter's Legislative Chair and our lobbyist.
The Centennial Group also has an active outings program, and a recent hike to around Cloudland Canyon (see photo above) was a big success!
We look forward to future programs with inclusive content and some focus on key environmental issues as we approach Earth Month in April.
Greater Gwinnett Group
Join the Greater Gwinnett Group on Thursday, March 13, for its monthly meeting featuring Dr. Jon Fisk, who will be giving a presentation titled "Environmental Regulation in a Hostile Regulatory Environment."
You can attend the meeting in person at Euro Gourmet Cafe & Grill in Lawrenceville or virtually via Zoom. Click here to RSVP (you'll receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link).
Metro Atlanta Group
Metro Atlanta Group members recently participated in a Climate Action Now! rally at the Georgia Capitol on Feb. 8. Members also participated in an outing designed to restore habitats for endangered quill wort and pool sprite plants on Stone Mountain (see photo above).
The Metro Atlanta Group's next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 13, from 7 to 9 PM. At this meeting, we'll learn from Chapter organizer Keyanna Jones Moore about energy burden in Atlanta, as well as about the function of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), a group of 5 elected officials whose decisions directly affect how much we pay for electricity and where our electricity comes from.
We'll also discuss how we can raise our voices for economic and environmental justice at this year's PSC hearings and beyond! RSVP at this link.
Middle Chattahoochee Group
Once again the Middle Chattahoochee Sierra Club Group will be joining the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper for its annual Sweep the Hooch trash clean-up. Join us on Saturday, March 22, from 9 AM to noon and help clean up the Hooch!
Our site for this year is Pyne Road Park on Westpoint Lake. This is a fun and worthwhile event! Bags and gloves are provided. Please register at this link and use the Middle Chattahoochee Group volunteer assignment.
Savannah River Group
Join the Savannah River Group for a hike through the Phinizy Swamp Nature Preserve on Saturday, March 8, at 10 AM. Generally considered an easy, flat route, the trail winds through scenic ponds and marshlands. This is a popular trail for birding, fishing, hiking, and possibly seeing some gators! Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash (due to the gators). Click here to RSVP for the outing!
You can find all of our upcoming events on the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter's online calendar. Click the links for each event to RSVP and learn more.
- March 1, 9 AM: Remote Forest Routes on Sweetwater Creek Yellow, Orange & Blue Trails
- What: Join us for hike through the more remote sections of trails in Sweetwater Creek State Park, featuring views of the Mill Ruins.
- Where: Sweetwater Creek State Park (1750 Mt Vernon Rd, Lithia Springs, GA 30122)
- March 8, 10 AM: Phinizy Swamp Nature Hike
- What: Explore Phinizy Swamp Nature Park by hiking a roughly four-mile loop trail near Augusta.
- Where: Phinizy Swamp Nature Park (1858 Lock and Dam Rd, Augusta, GA 30906)
- March 11 19, 6 PM: Decatur Energy Burden Presentation
- What: Join Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Organizer Keyanna Jones Moore at 6 PM the Scott Candler library for a presentation and a community conversation about energy burden.
- Where: Scott Candler Library (1917 Candler Rd, Decatur, GA 30032)
- March 12, 6 PM: Let's Talk Transit!
- What: Join the Georgia Sierra Club Transportation Committee, BeltLine Rail Now, MARTA Army, and ThreadATL for a chance to hang out with your fellow transit supporters for a relaxed evening of drinks, food, and socializing!
- Where: Buckhead Pizza Co. (3324 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305)
- March 13, 6:30 PM: Greater Gwinnett Group monthly meeting
- What: Join the Greater Gwinnett Group on Thursday, March 13, for its monthly meeting featuring Dr. Jon Fisk, who will be giving a presentation titled "Environmental Regulation in a Hostile Regulatory Environment."
- Where: Euro Gourmet Cafe & Grill (488 Gwinnett Dr, Lawrenceville, GA 30046) or online via Zoom.
- March 13, 7 PM: Metro Atlanta Group monthly meeting
- What: At this Metro Atlanta Group meeting, we'll learn from Chapter organizer Keyanna Jones Moore about energy burden in Atlanta, as well as about the function of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), a group of 5 elected officials whose decisions directly affect how much we pay for electricity and where our electricity comes from.
- Where: Online via Zoom with an in-person option to be announced.
- March 15, 10 AM: Dog walking outing (with or without your own dog) on the Savannah River Loop
- What: Join us for an easy 3.5-mile urban walk along the Savannah River! Many folks will be bringing their dogs, but you don't need a four-legged friend to come along!
- Where: Meet at the Morris Museum (1 10th St Augusta, GA 30901)
As the second Trump administration begins, we face imminent threats to our planet’s future. We will fight back with every tool at our disposal, but to face these challenges, we need your support. Please make a donation today to support our critical work for the next four years and beyond.