SPRING 2026 ISSUE FOOD & WATER WATCH MISSION Our food, water, and climate are under constant assault by corporations who put profit over the survival of humanity. They have seized control of the very institutions that were built to protect us. We mobilize people to reclaim their political power, hold our elected officials accountable, and resist corporate control — ensuring we all have the essential resources we need to thrive. This is a fight we must win because this planet is the only one we get.
Thank You for Fighting for Safe Food, Clean Water, and a Livable Climate!
AI BOOM IS COMING FOR OUR WATER AND WALLETS
SPRING 2026 ISSUE AI Boom: Hungry for Energy, Thirsty for Water
ICYMI: Tackling the Plastic Problem with Wenonah and Judith
Zephyr Teachout Fights for a Future Free from Monopoly Power
A MESSAGE FOR YOU This issue of Livable Future NOW spotlights the AI data center build- ing boom we’re seeing across the country. At a time when millions of people face challenges with access to clean water and high utility costs, the explosion of AI data centers poses a dire threat. Driven by the rapid expansion of AI and crypto, these resource-hungry facilities use so much electricity and water that many communities are facing skyrocketing energy bills and water scarcity. What’s worse, tech companies often use dirty energy to meet their rising demand and use freshwater sources we depend on for drinking. We need to hit the brakes. That’s why Food & Water Watch has called for a nationwide halt to the unregulated rollout of AI data center infrastructure, the first national organization to do so. Together with you, we’re orga- nizing in communities across the country to stop the building of new data centers while also working in Washington, DC, to educate Congresspeople about the threats posed by its unchecked growth. Your generosity makes these new campaigns possible. Thank you for protecting our communities and planet!
AI BOOM: HUNGRY
FOR ENERGY, THIRSTY FOR WATER
Located on the Susquehanna River, Amazon Web Services is adding more data centers to its already massive data center complex in Berwick, Pennsylvania. It draws power from the neighboring Susque- hanna Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power plant. Cover: Annie Vinatieri stands across the Susquehanna River from the Amazon data centers and the nuclear power plant that powers them. She's leading grassroots organizations in northeast Pennsylvania and working with Food & Water Watch to protect her community from data center projects. Photos by Joseph Pecora Photography
Mitch Jones Managing Director of Policy and Litigation
1 | SPRING 2026
Left: Annie and a group of concerned neighbors have been working together to fight LBT Investment Group, who want to build a massive data center campus in Sugarloaf. The 185-acre site would neighbor an even larger proposed data center campus called Project Hazelnut. Right: Annie is speaking at a Sugarloaf Township meeting where they are discussing a zoning ordinance amendment that would allow for the construction of the new LBT data center campus. Photos by Joseph Pecora Photography
“If you don’t think it’s coming to your backyard, you’re wrong.” Annie Vinatieri cautioned.
Annie lives in northeastern Pennsylvania, about a 45-minute drive southwest of Scranton. Coal mining domi- nated this region in the 19th century, before its collapse left a legacy of economic hardship and pollution. Now, Annie worries about Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers and how they would threaten her community’s access to water and raise elec- tricity rates for people already struggling to keep up with the cost of living. AI’s massive appetite AI’s rapid rollout has led to a surge in the construction of new data centers, the back- bone of this technology. The problem? These facilities use huge amounts of energy and water. They’ve already
caused a spike in demand for power that’s driving up energy bills and gobbling up water in water-stressed regions. Making matters worse, tech companies have turned to dirty energy, even using old coal-powered plants, to fulfill AI’s growing appetite. Big Oil, seizing on the opportunity, is using Big Tech’s hunger for more energy as an excuse to build more fossil fuel infrastructure. AI boom is a bust for communities Despite serious concerns about energy and water, the Trump administration is pushing to fast-track AI data center construction nationally with sweeping deregulations, and some Democratic leaders, such as Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro, are embracing the plan.
Energy demand from AI servers and data centers in the U.S. is expected to triple in the next 5 years. Not-So-Fun Fact
Proposals to build data centers have flooded Pennsylvania. Annie, an activist and leader in local grassroots organizations, is seeing this firsthand. “Greed is bipartisan,” Annie emphasized. In Pennsylvania and across the country, elected officials of all political stripes are rolling out the red carpet for data centers and related dirty energy proj- ects, including offering big tax breaks — all while families face skyrocketing electricity bills, water shortages, and the pros- pect of increased pollution.
What are AI data centers? AI data centers are massive warehouses packed with super- powered computers. These machines use way more energy and run much hotter than your typical computer, which means they also need a lot of water to keep cool.
AI Boom - continue on Page 3 >
FOOD & WATER WATCH / ACTION — LIVABLE FUTURE NOW | 2
Left: Pictured from the left, activists Annie and Ashley, and Food & Water Watch Pennsylvania Senior Organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake celebrate after stopping Project Hazelnut. Thank you for powering this success! Right: The site of the proposed Project Hazelnut has already been clear-cut and flattened. A Sugarloaf resident has a clear view of the destroyed forest from their home. Photo by Joseph Pecora Photography
> AI Boom - continued from Page 2
How you’re pushing back Thanks to you, Food & Water Watch is working with Annie and other community leaders to push back against resource-hungry data centers — and our voices are making a difference! You powered successful efforts to block projects, such as Project Hazelnut, a massive AI data center campus proposed near Annie’s home. This past November, in response to public outcry, the Hazle Township Board of Supervisors resoundly rejected it. “We expect to see legal challenges, but it was a great
Thank you for being at the heart of this critical work!
first and victorious step!” says Annie.
Together, we’re also calling for a national freeze on all new AI data centers. In December, we sent a letter to Congress signed by more than 230 national, state, and local organizations from across the country calling for a moratorium. Until we have regulatory guardrails to keep this technol- ogy from abusing our wallets, health, economy, and planet, we must press pause.
Learn More
Annie says, “Don’t underestimate the power of an educated, activated population.” Equipped with knowledge and people power, together, we can protect our communities and
environment. Read the case for a data center moratorium.
fwwat.ch/ai-harms
Because of you, Isabella fights for affordable clean energy in Florida ON THE GROUND Isabella Moeller is passionate about environmental and Isabella says, “The cost of energy keeps rising at a time when Floridians are
climate activism. She found Food & Water Watch a couple of years ago at a Letter to the Editor (LTE) training we hosted in Florida. That’s where she learned about the connection between rising electricity bills and dependence on fossil fuels. She’s been an incredible intern, turned volunteer, turned orga- nizer ever since!
facing worsening climate disasters and higher costs of living. We must fight for an affordable, climate-resilient future.” Your generosity powers our internship program and Volunteer Network outreach and training so that amazing activists like Isabella can fight for a livable future. Thank you! Read Isabella’s story at fwwat.ch/isabella
What came of the LTE training? Isabella’s first-ever LTE was published in the Tampa Bay Times , the largest publication in Florida!
3 | SPRING 2026
ICYMI: Tackling the Plastic Problem with Wenonah and Judith
UPCOMING EVENTS
Livable Future LIVE! is for YOU Our monthly virtual educational series features the latest environmental news and shares what you can do to protect our food, water, and climate — and it’s free to all Food & Water Watch members.
Their conversation highlighted the esca- lating plastic pollution crisis as not merely an
environmental issue but also a mounting public health and social justice concern, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Judith emphasized the
Microplastics have spread throughout our environ- ment, including our air, soil, crops, animals, and water. They’ve even made their way into our bodies. They disrupt our liver function, mess with our hormones, and even cause cell death. “Microplastics have been found in the brain,” Researcher Natalie Balbuena explained. “And yes, I did just say the brain — where they can actually accumulate.” The importance and prevalence of this issue are why Executive Director Wenonah Hauter chose The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late by Judith Enck as her 2025 Book of the Year. In our January Livable Future LIVE event, Wenonah sat down with Judith to discuss her book.
Appreciated hearing what areas are the most urgent at this time and that Food & Water Watch is on it!
need for immediate and comprehensive action and talked about the role each of us can play as individuals and within our communities. Working together with you, Food & Water Watch is taking action against plastic pollution. Powered by your generosity, we published articles, hosted webinars, and created a fact sheet to raise awareness and to inform our Stop Microplastic Now campaign led by our Water Action Volunteer Team. And you’re making a differ- ence! We recently achieved a big win in protecting our water from microplastics. See our featured victory on page 5. Thank you for being at the heart of making our world safer from plastic pollution!
Comment from a Livable Future LIVE attendee
See what’s coming up and save your seat fwwat.ch/live
Learn more about the plastic crisis
Scan this QR code to rewatch this Livable Future LIVE
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Your generosity this past year has been crucial. Trump has proven to be as dangerous as we expected. Thanks to you, we grew our people power to fight for safe food, clean water, and a livable climate — with strength and urgency. Thank you for rising to the challenge!
See Your Fiscal Year 2025
Annual Report
fwwat.ch/fww2025
FOOD & WATER WATCH / ACTION — LIVABLE FUTURE NOW | 4
YOUR FOOD & WATER WATCH AT WORK
ACTION SHOT!
Let's figure out if it's possible to [build data centers] in a way that is going to be safe for the environment, that is going to preserve water for communities, that is not going to drive up people's already increasing electricity prices.
Congress calling for a full nationwide moratorium on approval and construction of new data centers. More than 230 organizations signed on. Several media outlets sought our comment, including the Washington Post , PBS NewsHour, and NPR. They invited Mitch Jones, our
Because of you, we’re spreading the word about the unchecked expansion of AI data centers and how it’s straining our water resources and raising electricity prices across the country. Late last year, Food & Water Watch organized a letter to
— Mitch Jones, on NPR
Managing Director of Policy and Litigation, to talk about why a moratorium is necessary.
FEATURED VICTORY
According to a clause in the Safe Drinking Water Act, if seven governors submit a petition to list a contaminant for monitoring, the EPA must do so, or include another contaminant of concern in its place. Together, we
calls, and submitted over 8,000 messages in support of micro- plastics monitoring. Thank you for making this critical first step in securing safer water possible!
Scan this code to read your spring quarterly victories update and see more of your impact. fwwat.ch/spring26wins See More of Your Generosity at Work!
You powered a major win to protect our water from microplastics! In November, New Jersey Governor Murphy led a group of seven governors in urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor micro- plastics in our drinking water.
persuaded the Governors of New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Wisconsin, and Connecticut to take action. This victory comes after nearly a year of advocacy by Food & Water Watch and members like you, who met with governors’ staff, made thousands of phone
5 | SPRING 2026
DONOR SPOTLIIGHT Zephyr Teachout fights for a future free from monopoly power Please introduce yourself to our readers. I’m Zephyr Teachout, a law professor, author, activist, candidate for public office, and a lawyer for economic justice. I live in New York City. You’ve been a Food & Water Watch donor for a decade now. How did you first learn about our organi- zation, and why did you decide to become a donor? I first encountered Food & Water Watch during the long, hard, beautiful fight to ban fracking in New York. It was an amazing success: every day people, armed with good science and strategic action, taking on some of the most powerful corporations on earth and winning. Food & Water Watch was one of the few groups that never flinched, never hedged. It insisted on what was necessary, not what was easy. And unlike so many big environmental groups, some of which have grown comfortable in boardrooms, it was building actual, living, breathing grassroots power. That combination of moral clarity, strategic intelligence, and human depth drew me in. You’re serving on the Board of Food & Water Watch and as Board Chair of Food & Water Action. What motivated you to deepen your relationship with our mission in this powerful way? I study how concentrated power distorts markets, politics, and the terms of our everyday life, and I recognize that Food & Water Watch truly understands power — the corrosive power of corporate giants, and the democratic power that arises when people organize with clarity and courage. Food & Water Watch is distinct from other environmental nonprofits because: 1. It understands power in its full political and economic dimensions. It sees how fossil
If you care about climate justice, water justice, or
fuel companies, corporate agriculture, and water privatizers use their concentrated economic power to dominate. 2. It has a growing, authentic grassroots base — real people who show up to hearings, knock on doors, rally, organize, and stand together. Its people power is the antidote to corporate power. If you were talking to someone about giving to and getting involved with Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action, what would you tell them? Come on in, the water's fine! You’ll be welcomed into an organization that fights for the world as it should be, and does the hard work to bring that world into being. If you care about climate justice, water justice, or economic justice, this is where your support translates into real democratic action. What gives you hope for the future? Hope comes from action. There's something thrilling happening — people are coming together around fights for a more just world. It ain't easy, but a livable and just future is possible. economic justice, this is where your support translates into real democratic action.
FOOD & WATER WATCH / ACTION — LIVABLE FUTURE NOW | 6
A BENEFIT TO PROTECT OUR PLANET
2026 HONOREES
VIRTUAL PROGRAM NEW YORK CITY RECEPTION
Fredericka Foster Artist, Curator, and Water Activist Matt Wechsler Emmy-nominated Environmental Filmmaker Susan Weltman Lifelong Activist, Weaver, and Community Builder
WEDNESDAY April 29
Program times to be announced THURSDAY May 14
6:00–8:30 p.m. Freehand New York Hotel, Georgia Room
Register for our benefit to celebrate art and artists within the Food & Water Watch community! fwwat.ch/benefit2026 JOIN US!
YES! I want to stop AI data centers that threaten our drinking water and raise our energy bills. data centers. That's why Food & Water Watch is calling for a nationwide halt to the unregulated rollout of new data centers. Are you with us? We need to slam the brakes on water-guzzling, energy-intensive
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