Third Act PA

06/05/2026

🚨UGH. We (taxpayers) are paying companies to stop wind and start coal.

“Spending $700 million to bail out the coal industry is like throwing a lifeline to a ship that has already sunk. Trump is handing out taxpayer money to coal barons and leaving us with nothing but higher energy costs. … There’s no coal revival waiting around the corner—just polluters collecting a handout while their friends run the White House and Americans foot the bill.” -- Lena Moffitt, executive director at Evergreen Action

Via Maryland Matters: Coal plants receiving a combined $425 million in Defense Production Act funding are in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin, according to the White House.
Coal mines benefiting from the move are in 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming, North Dakota and New Mexico, according to the White House.

[The link is in the comments. ]

06/04/2026

It's about time someone started pushing back on this. Why should taxpayers pay to block wind energy?

The attorneys general for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont filed the suit.

Via Utility Dive: The cancellation of both Attentive Energy and Bluepoint Wind would “reduce available energy production in the New York Bight by 28%,” the lawsuit states. “The settlement agreements that facilitated these Lease cancellations also serve as a blueprint for other offshore wind leaseholders to receive compensation for the cancellation of their leases, an appealing prospect for project developers that have obligations to shareholders and that are unable to make progress on projects as a result of the Trump Administration’s opposition to wind energy.”

The link to the article is in the comments.

06/04/2026

When senators raise all sorts of reasons why we can't have community solar (and other good things) in Pennsylvania, we have a little speech and a cool new tool to help get us over the finish line.
Longtime organizer Tom Hoffman, who’s on Third Act PA’s coordinating committee, has proposed a response that we can have at the ready for these occasions. It puts the burden back on these lawmakers who find a problem for every solution.

The link to our editors note in the May-June newsletter is in the comments.

Our Solar PA
PennEnvironment
PennFuture
Pennsylvania Land & Liberty Coalition
Citizens' Climate Lobby Philadelphia
Citizens' Climate Lobby - Lehigh Valley
Southeastern PA Group of the Sierra Club

06/04/2026

Not-so-funnies for today

06/04/2026

Residents of Monterey Park, CA, voted for a permanent ban on AI data centers.

“[This] shows unequivocally that residents in Monterey Park do not want datacenters in their community. We hope that other communities will use the model set by residents here in Monterey Park as inspiration to stop data centers from encroaching in their backyard.” -- Jose Sanchez, a city councilmember

A link to the article is in the comments.

06/03/2026

The newspaper in Lancaster County, LNP + LancasterOnline, published a powerful editorial about how public officials need to listen to residents who oppose AI data centers.
Including Governor Shapiro.

The headline of the editorial: The citizen revolt against data centers comes to Columbia. Elected officials ought to take heed.

Background: Columbia residents in Lancaster County showed up in force to oppose a land deal that entailed building an AI data center. The borough leaders voted 7-0 to block the sale.

Here's an excerpt from the editorial. The link is in the comments. (No gift links available.)

Our Solar PA
PennEnvironment
PennFuture
Citizens' Climate Lobby Philadelphia
Citizens' Climate Lobby - Lehigh Valley
Southeastern PA Group of the Sierra Club
Pennsylvania Land & Liberty Coalition

06/02/2026

👀From our allies at PennFuture, a webinar on Tuesday, June 16, at 6 p.m. on AI data centers in PA.

Dr. Joseph Bowring is the PJM Market Monitor, an independent watchdog that oversees PJM Interconnection, our regional grid operator. His job is I ensure the electricity market is competitive, fair, and transparent.

Dr. Bowring has voiced concerns about the uptick of data center development coming to Pennsylvania and its impact on our failing energy grid. He has called on regulators to halt new data center development until our electric grid can reliably meet energy demand.

But, how do we ensure rising energy demand is fueled by 🌞CLEAN ENERGY🔋 rather than new fracked gas plants that pollute our air and raise our electric bills?

Join us with Dr. Bowring and others on Tuesday, June 16th at 6 PM ET on a conversation about what sustainable steps Pennsylvania can do to mitigate the energy impacts of data centers and fuel a clean renewable future.

Register here: https://secure.everyaction.com/5dQof9kA5k-XYJ58zHC2GA2

06/02/2026

More dumb news.

“This reflects the further lack of understanding that the current administration has of scientific value and scientific merit. By dismantling such a system, we push the United States back yet again into a rear seat in global scientific leadership.” -- Dr. Craig McLean, who was the acting chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the first Trump term

Via the NYT: Scientists have used data from the system to understand how the ocean is absorbing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, how changes in ocean temperature such as marine heat waves might affect fisheries or signal bigger shifts in the climate, and coastal flooding along the East Coast.
The station in the Irminger Sea has been key to understanding changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a global conveyor belt of water that some scientists are concerned may be weakening as a result of climate warming. A collapse of the current could have severe and far-reaching weather effects.

A gift link is in the comments.

06/02/2026

Which side are you on? We're for a moratorium.

Via Stateline: Supporters of the pauses say cities need rules before projects arrive, especially to answer residential concerns about electricity use, energy costs and nuisance issues.
Industry supporters argue data centers bring jobs and tax revenue and are an essential part of the nation’s digital infrastructure. They warn that communities that block data centers are sacrificing those benefits.

👉The next Third Act zoom about AI data centers is Tuesday, June 9, at 6 p.m. ET. Register here: https://thirdact.org/events/building-powerful-campaigns-against-ai-data-centers-organizing-training-series-session-3/

The link to the article is in the comments.

06/02/2026

Via Spotlight PA : [Governor Shapiro's] proposal would add conditions for the projects to receive a 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 and participate in preferential tax zone programs.

🚨No. No. No. Pennsylvanians do not want to give a tax break for AI data centers. Indeed, 68% of Pennsylvanians don't want to live near a data center, so where are these going to go? Several communities have already blocked AI data centers. Let's not foist them onto those who have less power to push back.

𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.