Green Party Leader Resist’s AI Data Centers in PA

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 12, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader
267-977-0570 and media@gpofpa.org

Green Party Leader Resist’s AI Data Centers in PA

–By Erin King.

As a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Communication Team, I have taken an interest in the people’s movement against AI data centers. After doing my due diligence and attending a recent Board of Supervisors meeting at the Ferguson Township Municipal Building, I think that our Governor’s GRID Proposal largely ignores science. If allowed to continue, this plan has the potential to harm the long-term health of citizens living near these AI data centers.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania voters this year will have a candidate for Governor who is adamantly opposed to AI data centers. Green Party Candidate for PA Governor Tony Dastra has said, “I am opposed to cutting back our renewable energy and energy independence goals to power new AI data centers. As your next Governor, I will stop all new development and work to remove unwanted AI data centers which have already opened.”

In doing my own research for the truth about AI data centers, I recently came across a report by scientists at George Mason University, from February, which reads: “We present evidence arguing that data centers may pose significant health risks, including diseases associated with air pollution from fossil fuel combustion, waterborne illnesses resulting from excessive water usage, and both mental and neurological health concerns related to noise pollution. We further discuss how data center construction drives large-scale land use changes, degrading natural ecosystems and community well-being, and how rising energy costs can worsen social determinants of health. Finally, we emphasize that children, the elderly, and low-income groups can be particularly susceptible to the health impacts associated with data centers.”

The World Resources Institute reported, also in February, that residents near large AI data centers have contracted respiratory illnesses caused by toxic emissions produced by on-site natural gas plants and diesel backup generators, which emit high volumes of nitrogen oxides. The institute also reported, “a joint Harvard and Piedmont Environmental Council analysis found that emissions from a single facility in Loudoun County, VA, were linked to up to 6.5 premature deaths and nearly $100 million in health damages annually.” Imagine this impact statewide here in our Commonwealth.

Both the Republican Party candidate for governor and some liberal Democrats have called for a pause in AI data center development, breaking with incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro, who is ardently in favor of bringing more AI data centers to our state as soon as possible. This contrasts with Green Party candidate for governor, Tony Dastra, whose website clearly says, “No More Data Centers.”

Although a moratorium might be a good start, it is not enough. I have discovered in my conversations with other fellow residents that many of us desire a permanent ban on AI data center development in PA. The Green Party of Pennsylvania is steadfastly opposed to further AI data centers in Pennsylvania, for reasons that are quite clear from the information stated previously. Only the Green Party of PA is fighting for a permanent ban on AI data center expansion in the state, and we believe the people of Pennsylvania deserve the final say.

Erin King (CentreCounty) was a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee during 2025. This year Erin is chair of the Dastra for PA Campaign Committee, https://www.dastraforpa.org.

For More Information:

“Health implications of the rapid rise of data centers in Virginia: an exploratory assessment,” 2/5/26,
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912/full

New Study Finds On-Site Power at Virginia Data Center Could Result in $53 Million–$99 Million in Annual Health Damages, March 4, 2026,

https://www.pecva.org/resources/press/press-release-new-study-finds-on-site-power-at-virginia-data-center-could-result-in-53-million-99-million-in-annual-health-damages/

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